Another Day, Another D.C. Circuit Brief

Benjamin Wittes
Tuesday, October 12, 2010, 3:52 PM
The cases are piling up fast and furious at the D.C. Circuit now, as the volume of district court cases continues to grow and generate more appeals. Today, the court released the declassified version of a brief filed by attorneys for Mukhtar Yahia Naji  Al Warafi.

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The cases are piling up fast and furious at the D.C. Circuit now, as the volume of district court cases continues to grow and generate more appeals. Today, the court released the declassified version of a brief filed by attorneys for Mukhtar Yahia Naji  Al Warafi. Al Warafi is appealing Chief Judge Royce Lamberth's March opinion affirming his detention. His lawyers describe the questions presented as follows:
1. Whether the district court committed reversible error in concluding that petitioner-appellate "was more likely than not a part of the Taliban," in view of undisputed evidence that during the relevant period he was a full-time worker at medical clinics run by a Saudi doctor, which were not shown to be run by or affiliated with the Taliban. 2. Whether the district court erred as a matter of law when it concluded that the Government is authorized to detain indefinitely doctors and other medical workers if they were part of the Taliban.

Benjamin Wittes is editor in chief of Lawfare and a Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. He is the author of several books.

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