Appellant Brief Available for al Kandari v. Obama

[W]hether the district court's jurisdiction comes from 28 U.S.C. $ 2241, in which case the Federal Rules of Evidence determine the admissibility of hearsay.

This Court and the court below have previously held that hearsay is admissible in habeas corpus cases brought by Guantanamo detainees, but neither this Court nor the court below has ever expressly addressed the conflict between those decisions and the plain language of Fed. R. Evid. 1101(e), which provides that the Federal Rules of Evidence apply in habeas corpus cases under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 to the extent that matters of evidence are not provided for in the statutes which govern procedure therein or in other rules prescribed by the Supreme Court. The government's only textual defense against the application of Fed. R. Evid. 1101(e) is its contention that habeas cases brought by Guantanamo detainees are based solely on the Constitution, and not on 28 U.S.C. 5 2241, so statutory restrictions on admissibility of evidence do not apply. The government's contention is wrong. Because federal courts other than the Supreme Court have no jurisdiction other than by act of Congress, and the Supreme Court's invalidation of the provision in the Military Commissions Act stripping the district courts of statutory jurisdiction over habeas cases brought by Guantanamo detainees necessarily restored that statutory jurisdiction, the district court's jurisdiction could come only from 28 U.S.C. $ 2241. The district court overstepped its statutory authority by disregarding the express requirement of Fed. R. Evid. 1101(e) in cases under 28 U.S.C. 3 2241, effectively assuming a source of jurisdiction not granted to it by statute. Similarly, this Court overstepped its authority in the Al-Bihani line of cases, applying its own policy preferences rather than the statutory requirements imposed by Congress on the district court's exercise of its jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 3 2241. This Court should hold that the district court's jurisdiction is based on 28 U.S.C. 3 2241, reverse the district court's decision denying Mr. Al-Kandari's habeas corpus petition, and remand for hearing based on evidence admissible in accordance with Fed. R. Evid. 1101(e).