Military Law

Hurdles to Blackwater Prosecutions

The government faces many hurdles if it decides to prosecute Blackwater security guards for a Sept. 16 incident in which they killed 17 Iraqis. “A patchwork of laws that are largely untested, and practical obstacles to building cases in war zones, have all but insulated contractors from accountability,” the New…

Oct 11, 2007 1:06 PM CDT

Chief Gitmo Prosecutor Resigns

The chief military prosecutor for the Guantanamo Bay war tribunals has resigned, apparently over a lack of prosecutorial discretion. A Pentagon spokesman says Air Force Col. Moe Davis asked to be assigned to another post after losing a dispute over whether the higher-ranking officer responsible for holding the tribunals should…

Oct 5, 2007 11:12 PM CDT

CIA Director Details Interrogations

In another reaction to a lengthy New York Times article yesterday on secret Department of Justice legal opinions on interrogation tactics, the director of the CIA sent an internal memo to employees disputing the premise that the memos opened the door for harsher methods. In his memo, Michael Hayden describes…

Oct 5, 2007 10:40 PM CDT

Gitmo Lawyer: The Immoral is Mundane

Clive Stafford Smith is a lawyer who serves as the legal director of Reprieve, a British human rights agency that represents prisoners at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay. Not long ago, he made the news after being accused by military authorities of smuggling contraband briefs—that is to say,…

Oct 5, 2007 6:10 PM CDT

Surveillance Backlash in Britain

The U.K.’s famously state-of-the-art national surveillance system (at least compared to the U.S.), is suddenly taking it on the chin. A blog post today by the Pinsent Masons law firm says up to 95 percent of the closed-circuit television systems in Britain and Wales are illegal—and that may soon be…

Oct 1, 2007 6:50 PM CDT

Gitmo Prosecutor Clash Disrupts Trials

A clash between the top Guantanamo prosecutor and his superior has slowed the effort to bring terrorism suspects to justice. The prosecutor, Col. Morris Davis, alleges in a written complaint that a Pentagon legal adviser has interfered with and in effect micromanaged cases, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.).…

Sep 27, 2007 5:35 PM CDT

Gitmo Trials Off, Now On Again

A special military appeals court is giving Guantanamo prosecutors a chance to prove that detainees are unlawful enemy combatants in a ruling that paves the way for war crimes trials. Trial-level military panels had found detainees to be enemy combatants, but made no finding about whether they were “unlawful.” The…

Sep 25, 2007 2:03 PM CDT

Lawmaker: Feds Didn’t Spot Cyber-Attack

Saying that the Department of Homeland Security didn’t notice for months that its computer system had been attacked by hackers, a Congressman who works closely with the department is now seeking a new government investigation—and blaming the contractor in charge of the system for lax oversight. Meanwhile, the FBI reportedly…

Sep 24, 2007 7:12 PM CDT

Mexico: Our Soldiers Raped & Tortured

A human rights commission run by the Mexican government has reportedly accused some of the country’s own soldiers of rape and torture and recommended that the Mexican army be removed from ongoing national efforts to control drug-trafficking there. An Associated Press article details four cases of alleged abuse that National…

Sep 21, 2007 10:51 PM CDT

‘Virtual Immunity’ for Private Guards in Iraq

Private contractors who provide security in Iraq “operate with virtual immunity from Iraqi and American law,” the New York Times reports. Congress directed the Defense Department last year to develop rules that would put military contractors under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, but it has not yet complied, the…

Sep 20, 2007 4:30 PM CDT

Religion Statute May Allow Gitmo Claims

Four former Guantanamo Bay military prison detainees who claim American officials abused them there haven’t had any luck trying to sue the U.S. government over alleged constitutional rights violations. But redress may be possible under a 1993 statute that says the government must have a compelling reason for infringing on…

Sep 17, 2007 3:48 PM CDT

US to Lawyers: Explain Suspect Skivvies

The U.S. military is investigating how several prisoners at Guantanamo Bay came to be wearing unauthorized underwear, and among those it is questioning are their attorneys. A letter sent last month by the Office of the Navy Judge Advocate General to a lawyer with Reprieve, a British human rights group…

Sep 15, 2007 1:23 AM CDT

A Uniform Complaint

Former military lawyers recount their fight to define justice for enemy combatants

Sep 1, 2007 5:45 AM CDT

Haditha Squad Leader in Court Today

A squad leader who led a 2005 assault on several houses in Haditha, Iraq, appears before a military hearing officer today to determine whether he should be tried for murder. Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich is accused of killing 18 people in the attacks, the most serious charges against any U.S.…

Aug 30, 2007 1:29 PM CDT

No Jail for Abu Ghraib Officer

An Army officer tried in connection with interrogation abuses at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison will not spend any time in jail. Army Lt. Col. Steven Jordan received a reprimand from a military jury for disobeying an officer’s order not to discuss the investigation, the Washington Post reports. It is one…

Aug 29, 2007 4:09 PM CDT