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Obama may continue military commission process: NYT

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The Obama administration may reinstitute controversial military commission proceedings for Guantanamo Bay military prison detainees in an announcement as early as next week, according to a New York Times report Friday. On his first day in office in January, Obama directed military prosecutors to pursue a 120-day continuance in the military commission proceedings against five alleged 9/11 co-conspirators, and then ordered Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to implement a halt to the proceedings pending a comprehensive review of all Guantanamo detentions under the supervision of Attorney General Eric Holder. That suspension is set to expire May 20. According to the New York Times report, unidentified officials said that the Department of Justice (DOJ) remains concerned about the viability of trying terror suspects in federal court and in particular of meeting federal evidentiary standards. Sources said that some detainees may be tried in federal courts, and that the administration would heighten military commission defendants' due process protections to exclude more types of hearsay than under the Bush-era system. The report also said that the government may seek additional continuances in pending military commission proceedings, and that such pleadings may contain details of the administration's new system. Rights groups have long criticized military commissions for admitting some evidence that is barred from federal court, including hearsay or coerced confessions. In March 2008, the president of the American Bar Association expressed grave concern over the military commissions process, noting that hearsay testimony and coerced confessions were admitted even when obtained through now-illegal advanced interrogation techniques, such as waterboarding. As a presidential candidate, Obama declared that he would "reject the Military Commissions Act", but since assuming the presidency has not definitively ruled out the system. During a Senate Committee on Appropriations hearing last week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that military commissions are "still on the table."

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on May 02, 2009 (boomark / email).