Government Says No Additional Briefing Needed to Address Revised Force-Feeding Protocols

More back-and-forth in the force-feeding case Aamer v. Obama, on appeal before the D.C. Circuit.  Last Wednesday, the government filed a response to the detainees' Dec. 4 letter asserting the need for additional briefing addressing the substance of the revised force-feeding protocols  if the Court intends to address the merits of their challenge to the government’s authority to force-feed them. The government's objection is three-fold: 1) nothing about the petitioners' initial motion for a preliminary injunction turned on the particulars of the protocols being used; 2) the fact that the revised protocols will govern petitioners' future conduct has no bearing on the question on appeal, which is whether the district court abused its discretion in denying the petitioners injunctive relief; and 3) the revised protocols are "essentially the same" as established by the record in the court below. The government's letter opens:

We do not agree with petitioners’ assertion that, if the Court intends to address the merits of petitioners’ challenge to the government’s authority to enterally feed them, additional briefing addressing the substance of the revised enteral feeding protocols is “essential to adjudication on the merits.” Ltr. at 2. Petitioners’ motion for a preliminary injunction did not seek to enjoin the specific protocols being used or to challenge their constitutionality. Rather, petitioners sought “an injunction prohibiting respondents from subjecting petitioners to force-feeding of any kind[.]” Appendix at 1 (emphasis added).