Legal Commentary

Federal Judge Recuses Himself From Gitmo Case After Bias Claim

By Jeralyn

U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth has recused himself from the habeas case of Guantanamo detainee Abdal Razik Ali.

In a nutshell, Judge Lamberth, in an interview with Pro Publica, discussed how judges were weighing the risks of releasing detainees. He was quoted as saying, not with respect to any particular detainee:

"How confident can I be that if I make the wrong choice that he won’t be the one that blows up the Washington Monument or the Capitol?"

Ali's lawyer filed a motion to recuse him. [More...]

Lawyer H. Candace Gorman of Chicago promptly filed a motion demanding that the judge withdraw from the case of her client, Abdal Razik Ali. Lamberth’s comment, Gorman argued, suggested that his personal fears – apart from the facts of the case – could drive him to deny her client’s request for release.

Judge Lamberth called Gorman's bias claim ""much ado about nothing" but recused himself anyway.

Ali's case now goes to Judge Richard Leon, who has granted six of the eleven Gitmo habeas petitions assigned to him.

The government has lost 36 of the 50 habeas cases that have been decided.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on June 17, 2010 (boomark / email).