Public Appellant Brief Available in Al Madhwani
Today, the D.C. Circuit released the public version of the appellant's brief in Al Madhwani v.
Published by The Lawfare Institute
in Cooperation With
Today, the D.C. Circuit released the public version of the appellant's brief in Al Madhwani v. Obama. In this case, Musa'ab Omar Al-Madhwani appeals Judge Thomas Hogan's December 2009 bench ruling and January 2010 opinion affirming his detention, as well as an order denying certain discovery requests and an order denying his motion for reconsideration. His lawyers present the following seven issues:
- Whether the district court erred in concluding that Al-Madhwani voluntarily attended a training camp and traveled and "crossed paths" with alleged al-Qaida members and therefore was "part of" al-Qaida.
- Whether the district court erred by relying on evidence outside the record.
- Whether the district court improperly shifted the burden of proof by requiring Al-Madhwani to prove the taint of torture had not been removed when he gave statements to the CSRT and ARB.
- Whether the district court deprived Al-Madhwani of a fair trial by denying him discovery of necessary rebuttal evidence.
- Whether the district court applied an erroneous standard for detention under the AUMF.
- Whether the district court erred by ignoring the Federal Rules of Evidence in considering unreliable hearsay evidence.
- Whether the district court erred in upholding indefinite military detention based on a mere preponderance of the evidence.
Larkin Reynolds is an associate at a D.C. law firm and was a legal fellow at Brookings from 2010 to 2011. Larkin holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she served as a founding editor of the Harvard National Security Journal and interned with the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps, and the National Security Division of the Department of Justice. She also has a B.A. in international relations from New York University.
