Upcoming Hearings in Al-Nashiri and the 9/11 Case

By way of reminder, this month we'll cover military commission sessions in both of the capital cases pending at Guantanamo.   The commission will hear argument in United States v. Al-Nashiri from Tuesday through Thursday of next week, i.e. from January 15 through January 17.  Judge James Pohl’s docketing order identifies nine agenda items for that session, including (among other things) the defense’s effort to apply the Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause to military commission proceedings:

1. The next hearing in this case will take place on 15-17 January 2013 at the US Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The hearing will begin at 0900 on 15 January 2013. The commission will hear argument on the following motions during that session: a. AE 045 Government Motion for a Scheduling Order b. AE 099D Government Motion for the Commission to Discuss with the Accused Matters Considered by the Commission During the 18- 19 July 2012 and 23 October 2012 Sessions c. AE 107 Defense Motion to Compel the Convening Authority to Fund Two Individuals to Act as Defense-Initiated Victim/Survivor Outreach (DIVO) Liaison d. AE 109 Defense Motion to Take Judicial Notice that the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, as Interpreted by the United States Supreme Court Applies to this Capital Military Commission e. AE 114 Defense Motion to Find that R.M.C. 703(c) violates 10 U.S.C 949j(a)(I) and Mr. al Nashiri's Constitutional and Statutory Rights to due process f. AE 118 Defense Motion to Cease the Use of Belly Chains on the Accused by JTF-GTMO g. AE 120 Defense Motion to Compel the Discovery of Information in the Possession of any Foreign Government and the United States related to the Arrest, Detention, and Interrogation of Mr. al Nashiri (Classified) h. AE 131 Defense Motion to Compel Production of Representative of OCA to Testify at Oct Hearing I . AE 140 Government Motion for Inquiry into the Mental Capacity of the Accused Under R.M.C. 706 2. The accused will be present on 15 January 2013.

Additionally, a motions hearing in United States v. Mohammed et. al.---the 9/11 case---will be held from January 28 through January 31.  The court's docketing order for that session has been handed down, but is still undergoing a security scrub.  We will post the order just as soon as the security review has been completed. UPDATE (4:52 p.m.): Al-Nashiri's defense lawyers today filed a request to postpone the hearing in his case, from next week to the first week of February.  Because the motion hasn't yet cleared security, we don't know the basis for the defense's delay request.  Stay tuned.