Justia Military Law Opinion Summaries

Petitioner, a detainee at Guantanamo Bay, sought a writ of mandamus directing that the Hon. Scott L. Silliman of the United States Court of Military Commission Review (CMCR) recuse himself from serving as a judge in petitioner's case on the basis of public statements made by Judge Silliman prior to and during his service on that court. Petitioner also sought to vacate a prior opinion by a panel of the CMCR that included Judge Silliman. Petitioner identified more than a dozen statements that he says indicate Judge Silliman was biased against him. The DC Circuit granted the writ of mandate and held that petitioner satisfied all three conditions for the issuance of the writ. In this case, petitioner had no other adequate means to attain the relief he desired, he satisfied the burden of showing that his right to issuance of the writ was clear and indisputable, and the court was satisfied that the writ was appropriate under the circumstances. View "In re: Khalid Shaikh Mohammad" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs sought a declaratory judgment stating that their family members were killed in the course of a U.S. drone attack in violation of international law governing the use of force, the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA), and the Alien Tort Statute (ATS). The district court dismissed the claims primarily based on political question grounds. The DC Circuit affirmed and held that it was not the role of the Judiciary to second-guess the determination of the Executive, in coordination with the Legislature, that the interests of the U.S. called for a particular military action in the ongoing War on Terror. In this case, El-Shifa Pharmaceutical Industries Co. v. United States, 607 F.3d 836 (D.C. Cir. 2010), controlled the court's analysis and compelled dismissal of plaintiffs' claims. View "Bin Ali Jaber v. United States" on Justia Law