Al-Bahlul's En Banc Reply Brief Available
The reply was filed yesterday by counsel for Guantanamo detainee. En banc briefing in the appeal of his military commission conviction is now seemingly complete.
In the reply's "Summary of Argument" section, Al-Bahlul emphasizes the straightforwardness of his case:
All we ask is that this Court apply settled law to undisputed facts.
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The reply was filed yesterday by counsel for Guantanamo detainee. En banc briefing in the appeal of his military commission conviction is now seemingly complete.
In the reply's "Summary of Argument" section, Al-Bahlul emphasizes the straightforwardness of his case:
All we ask is that this Court apply settled law to undisputed facts. None of the offenses in this case were positively identified in law at the time they were allegedly committed. They are therefore only triable if they “are recognized in international law as violations of the law of war.” . . . Because their failure to rise to that level is undisputed, this Court should vacate the judgment below.In support of this, the reply advances three broad legal arguments: first, that criminal cases are decided under the law as it was, not under Congress’ beliefs about what it was; second, that Al-Bahlul's military commission lacked jurisdiction because none of the offenses would have been triable under Article 21 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice; and third, that the government’s “flexible” approach to the Ex Post Facto Clause is a standardless exercise in crime by analogy. Oral argument is scheduled for Monday, September 30th at 9:30 a.m. We'll see what happens in the meantime: recall that the court of appeals earlier requested, but apparently has not yet received, a letter from Al Bahlul personally, and regarding his desire to continue the appeal. For additional background, here are Al-Bahlul's initial brief and the government's response; you can also find more information at the case's Wiki Page.
Raffaela Wakeman is a Senior Director at In-Q-Tel. She started her career at the Brookings Institution, where she spent five years conducting research on national security, election reform, and Congress. During this time she was also the Associate Editor of Lawfare. From there, Raffaela practiced law at the U.S. Department of Defense for four years, advising her clients on privacy and surveillance law, cybersecurity, and foreign liaison relationships. She departed DoD in 2019 to join the Majority Staff of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, where she oversaw the Intelligence Community’s science and technology portfolios, cybersecurity, and surveillance activities. She left HPSCI in May 2021 to join IQT.
Raffaela received her BS and MS in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2009 and her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 2015, where she was recognized for her commitment to public service with the Joyce Chiang Memorial Award. While at the Department of Defense, she was the inaugural recipient of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s General Counsel Award for exhibiting the highest standards of leadership, professional conduct, and integrity.
