Closing the Guantanamo Detention Center:
Legal Issues
Michael John Garcia
Legislative Attorney
Elizabeth B. Bazan
Legislative Attorney
R. Chuck Mason
Legislative Attorney
Edward C. Liu
Legislative Attorney
Anna C. Henning
Legislative Attorney
January 27, 2010
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
R40139
CRS Report for Congress
P
repared for Members and Committees of Congress
Closing the Guantanamo Detention Center: Legal Issues
Summary
Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Congress passed the Authorization to Use Military Force
(AUMF), which granted the President the authority “to use all necessary and appropriate force
against those ... [who] planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks” against the
United States. Many persons subsequently captured during military operations in Afghanistan and
elsewhere were transferred to the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for detention and
possible prosecution before military tribunals. Although nearly 800 persons have been transferred
to Guantanamo since early 2002, the substantial majority of Guantanamo detainees have
ultimately been transferred to another country for continued detention or release. The 192
detainees who remain fall into three categories: (1) persons placed in non-penal, preventive
detention to stop them from rejoining hostilities; (2) persons who have faced or are expected to
face criminal charges; and (3) persons who have been cleared for transfer or release, whom the
United States continues to detain pending transfer. Although the Supreme Court ruled in
Boumediene v. Bush that Guantanamo detainees may seek habeas corpus review of the legality of
their detention, several legal issues remain unsettled, including the extent to which other
constitutional provisions apply to noncitizens held at Guantanamo.
On January 22, 2009, President Obama issued an Executive Order requiring the closure of the
Guantanamo detention facility no later than a year from the date of the Order. Although this
deadline has not been met, the Administration has stated that it remains committed to closing the
facility as expeditiously as possible. Numerous legislative proposals have been introduced in the
111th Congress concerning the potential closure of the Guantanamo facility. Congress has enacted
several appropriations measures which contain provisions restricting funds from being used to
transfer detainees into the United States for release or purposes other than prosecution. These
measures also limit funds from being used to transfer detainees into the country for purposes of
prosecution unless certain reporting requirements to Congress are first fulfilled. The National
Defense Authorization Act for FY2010 (P.L. 111-84) also contains provisions modifying the rules
for military commissions, which may have implications for Guantanamo detainees. For more
information, see CRS Report R40754, Guantanamo Detention Center: Legislative Activity in the
111th Congress, by Anna C. Henning, and CRS Report R40932, Comparison of Rights in Military
Commission Trials and Trials in Federal Criminal Court, by Jennifer K. Elsea.
The closure of the Guantanamo detention facility may raise a number of legal issues with respect
to the individuals formerly interned there, particularly if those detainees are transferred to the
United States. The nature and scope of constitutional protections owed to detainees within the
United States may be different from the protections owed to persons held outside the United
States. This may have implications for the continued detention or prosecution of persons who are
transferred to the United States. The transfer of detainees to the United States may also have
immigration consequences. This report provides an overview of major legal issues likely to arise
as a result of executive and legislative action to close the Guantanamo detention facility. It
discusses legal issues related to the transfer of Guantanamo detainees (either to a foreign country
or into the United States), the continued detention of such persons in the United States, and the
possible removal of persons brought into the country. It also discusses selected constitutional
issues that may arise in the criminal prosecution of detainees, emphasizing the procedural and
substantive protections that are utilized in different adjudicatory forums (i.e., federal civilian
courts, court-martial proceedings, and military commissions).
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Closing the Guantanamo Detention Center: Legal Issues
Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1
Detainee Transfer or Release from Guantanamo .......................................................................... 5
Transfer/Release of Guantanamo Detainees to a Country other than the United States ........... 6
Transfer of Detainees into the United States .......................................................................... 8
Detention and Treatment of Persons Transferred to the United States......................................... 10
Authority to Detain within the United States........................................................................ 10
Treatment of Detained Persons ............................................................................................ 14
Legal Challenges to Nature of Detention ............................................................................. 15
Removal of Detainees from the United States............................................................................ 16
Detainees’ Rights in a Criminal Prosecution .............................................................................. 17
Right to Assistance of Counsel ............................................................................................ 20
Right Against Use of Coerced Confessions.......................................................................... 22
Right Against Prosecution Under Ex Post Facto Laws......................................................... 27
Rules Against Hearsay Evidence ......................................................................................... 33
Evidentiary Issues ......................................................................................................... 33
Constitutional Issues ..................................................................................................... 35
Right to a Speedy Trial........................................................................................................ 37
Right to Confront Secret Evidence ...................................................................................... 40
Withholding Classified Information During Discovery .................................................. 41
The Use of Secret Evidence at Trial............................................................................... 44
Conclusion................................................................................................................................ 46
Contacts
Author Contact Information ...................................................................................................... 47
Congressional Research Service
Closing the Guantanamo Detention Center: Legal Issues
Introduction
Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Congress passed the Authorization to Use Military Force
(AUMF), which granted the President the authority “to use all necessary and appropriate force
against those ... [who] planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks” against the
United States.1 As part of the subsequent “war on terror,” many persons captured during military
operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere were transferred to the U.S. Naval Station at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for detention and possible prosecution before military tribunals.
Although nearly 800 persons have been transferred to Guantanamo since early 2002, the
substantial majority of Guantanamo detainees have ultimately been transferred to a third country
for continued detention or release.2 The 192 detainees who remain fall into three categories:
• Persons who have been placed in preventive detention to stop them from
returning to the battlefield (formerly labeled “enemy combatants” by the Bush
Administration3). Preventive detention of captured belligerents is non-penal in
nature, and must be ended upon the cessation of hostilities.
• Persons who, besides being subject to preventive detention, have been brought or
are expected to be brought before a military or other tribunal to face criminal
charges, including for alleged violations of the law of war. If convicted, such
persons may be subject to criminal penalty, which in the case of the most severe
offenses may include life imprisonment or death.
1 P.L. 107-40.
2 For a detailed description of the Guantanamo detainee population, see Andrei Scheinkman et al., “The Guantanamo
Docket,” New York Times, http://projects.nytimes.com/guantanamo [hereinafter “Guantanamo Docket”]. See also
Benjamin Wittes and Zaahira Wyne, The Current Detainee Population of Guantánamo: An Empirical Study, Brookings
Institute, December 16, 2008 [hereinafter “Brookings Report”]. Updates to the Brookings Report that track
developments in the Guantanamo detainee population are available at http://www.brookings.edu/reports/2008/
1216_detainees_wittes.aspx (last updated October 21, 2009) [hereinafter “Brookings Report Update”].
3 In March 2009, the Obama Administration announced a new definitional standard for the government’s authority to
detain terrorist suspects, which does not use the phrase “enemy combatant” to refer to persons who may be properly
detained. The new standard is similar in scope to the “enemy combatant” standard used by the Bush Administration to
detain terrorist suspects. Like the former standard, the new standard would permit the detention of members of the
Taliban, Al Qaeda, and associated forces, along with persons who provide support to such groups, regardless of
whether such persons were captured away from the battlefield in Afghanistan. However, in contrast to the former
standard, the new definition specifies that persons may be detained on account of support provided to Al Qaeda, the
Taliban, or associated forces only if such support is “substantial.” Department of Justice, “Department of Justice
Withdraws ‘Enemy Combatant’ Definition for Guantanamo Detainees,” press release, March 13, 2009,
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/March/09-ag-232.html; In re Guantanamo Bay Detainee Litigation, Respondents’
Memorandum Regarding the Government’s Detention Authority Relative to Detainees Held At Guantanamo Bay, No.
08-0442, filed March 13, 2009 (D.D.C.). In December 2009, a D.C. Circuit panel endorsed the somewhat broader
definitional standard used by the Bush Administration to describe Executive authority to detain terrorist suspects,
though this ruling has no effect upon the Obama Administration’s decision to no longer refer to terrorist suspects as
“enemy combatants.” Al-Bihani v. Obama, No. 09-5051, 2010 WL 10411 (D.C. Cir. Jan. 5, 2010). In October 2009,
Congress modified rules for military commissions pursuant to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2010, including by providing commissions with jurisdiction over alien “unprivileged enemy belligerents.” P.L. 111-84,
§ 1802 (amending, inter alia, 10 U.S.C. §§ 948a-948b). Commissions previously could exercise jurisdiction over alien
“unlawful enemy combatants.” 10 U.S.C. § 948c (2008). Despite the difference in nomenclature, the two terms are
used to refer to similar categories of persons.
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• Persons who have been cleared for transfer or release to a foreign country, either
because (1) they are not believed to have been engaged in hostilities, or (2)
although they were found to have been enemy belligerents, they are no longer
considered a threat to U.S. security. Such persons remain detained at
Guantanamo until their transfer may be effectuated.
The decision by the Bush Administration to detain suspected belligerents at Guantanamo was
based upon both policy and legal considerations. From a policy standpoint, the U.S. facility at
Guantanamo offered a safe and secure location away from the battlefield where captured persons
could be interrogated and potentially tried by military tribunals for any war crimes they may have
committed. From a legal standpoint, the Bush Administration sought to avoid the possibility that
suspected enemy combatants could pursue legal challenges regarding their detention or other
wartime actions taken by the Executive. The Bush Administration initially believed that
Guantanamo was largely beyond the jurisdiction of the federal courts, and noncitizens held there
would not have access to the same substantive and procedural protections that would be required
if they were detained in the United States.4
The legal support for this policy was significantly eroded by a series of Supreme Court rulings
permitting Guantanamo detainees to seek judicial review of the circumstances of their detention.
Although Congress attempted to limit federal courts’ jurisdiction over detainees through the
enactment of the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 (DTA, P.L. 109-148, Title X) and the Military
Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA, P.L. 109-366), these efforts were subject to judicial challenge.
In 2008, the Supreme Court ruled in Boumediene v. Bush that the constitutional writ of habeas
corpus extends to noncitizens held at Guantanamo, and found that provisions of the DTA and
MCA eliminating federal habeas jurisdiction over Guantanamo detainees acted as an
unconstitutional suspension of the writ.5 As a result, Guantanamo detainees may seek habeas
review of the legality of their detention. Nonetheless, several legal issues remain unsettled,
including the scope of habeas review available to Guantanamo detainees, the remedy available
for those persons found to be unlawfully held by the United States, and the extent to which other
constitutional provisions extend to noncitizens held at Guantanamo.6 Some of these issues may be
addressed by the Supreme Court in the case of Kiyemba v. Obama,7 which is scheduled to be
heard later this term.
On January 22, 2009, President Barack Obama issued an Executive Order requiring that the
Guantanamo detention facility be closed as soon as practicable, and no later than a year from the
date of the Order.8 Any persons who continue to be held at Guantanamo at the time of closure are
to be either transferred to a third country for continued detention or release, or transferred to
another U.S. detention facility. The Order further requires specified officials to review all
Guantanamo detentions to assess whether the detainee should continue to be held by the United
States, transferred or released to a third country, or be prosecuted by the United States for
4 Memorandum from the Office of Legal Counsel, Department of Justice, for William J. Haynes, General Counsel,
Department of Defense, Possible Habeas Jurisdiction over Aliens Held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Dec. 28, 2001.
5 Boumediene v. Bush, 128 S.Ct. 2229 (2008).
6 For background, see CRS Report RL33180, Enemy Combatant Detainees: Habeas Corpus Challenges in Federal
Court, by Jennifer K. Elsea, Kenneth R. Thomas, and Michael John Garcia; and CRS Report RL34536, Boumediene v.
Bush: Guantanamo Detainees’ Right to Habeas Corpus, by Michael John Garcia.
7 Kiyemba v. Obama, 555 F.3d 1022, cert. granted, 130 S.Ct. 458 (Oct. 20, 2009).
8 Executive Order 13492, “Review and Disposition of Individuals Detained at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and
Closure of Detention Facilities,” 74 Federal Register 4897, January 22, 2009 [hereinafter “Executive Order”].
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criminal offenses.9 Reviewing authorities are required to identify and consider the legal,
logistical, and security issues that would arise in the event that some detainees are transferred to
the United States. The Order also requires reviewing authorities to assess the feasibility of
prosecuting detainees in an Article III court. During this review period, the Secretary of Defense
is required to take steps to ensure that all proceedings before military commissions and the United
States Court of Military Commission Review are halted. On the same day that the Executive
Order to close the Guantanamo detention facility was issued, President Obama issued two other
Executive Orders which created separate task forces—the Special Task Force on Detainee
Disposition and the Special Task Force on Interrogation and Transfer Policies—charged with
reviewing aspects of U.S. detention policy, including the options available for the detention, trial,
or transfer of wartime detainees, whether held at Guantanamo or elsewhere.10 Although these task
forces are distinct from the task force responsible for reviewing Guantanamo detentions, their
work and recommendations may have implications on U.S. policy with respect to Guantanamo.
On November 13, 2009, the Departments of Justice and Defense made an announcement
regarding the forums in which 10 Guantanamo detainees, who had previously been charged
before military commissions, would be tried.11 The Department of Justice intends to bring charges
against five of these detainees in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for
criminal offenses related to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.12 Once charges against these detainees are
brought in federal civilian court, the military commission charges pending against them shall be
withdrawn. The detainees will be transferred to the United States for trial once all legal
requirements are met, including the completion of a 45-day notice period following the
submission of relevant reports to Congress, as well as consultation with state and local
authorities.13 The Attorney General and Secretary of Defense also determined that military
commission proceedings against the five other Guantanamo detainees may be resumed.14
9 Id. at § 4. The Order specifies that the review shall be conducted by the Attorney General (who shall also coordinate
the review process), the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director
of National Intelligence, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as other officers or full- or part-time
employees of the U.S. government (as determined by the Attorney General, with the concurrence of the relevant
department head) with intelligence, counterterrorism, military, or legal expertise.
10 Executive Order 13491, “Ensuring Lawful Interrogations,” 74 Federal Register 4893, January 22, 2009; Executive
Order 13493, “Review of Detention Policy Options,” 74 Federal Register 4901, January 22, 2009. On July 20, 2009,
the Special Task Force on Detainee Disposition, which was required to issue a final report by July 21, 2009, “unless the
Co-Chairs determine that an extension is necessary,” extended by six months the period in which the Task Force will
conduct its work and submit a final report. The Task Force has, however, issued a preliminary report on the use of
military commissions to try wartime detainees (including those held at Guantanamo) and the process for determining
the appropriate forum for trials of suspected terrorists. Special Task Force on Detainee Disposition (Detention Policy
Task Force), “Preliminary Report,” July 20, 2009, available at http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/
2009/07/law-of-war-prosecution-prelim-report-7-20-09.pdf. The Special Task Force on Interrogation and Transfer
Policies established by Executive Order 13491, which also was required to issue a final report by July 21, 2009, unless
the Task Force determined an extension was appropriate, extended the deadline for its final report by two months. The
Task Force issued recommendations to the President on U.S. interrogation and transfer policies. Department of Justice,
“Special Task Force on Interrogations and Transfer Policies Issues Its Recommendations to the President,” press
release, August 24, 2009, http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/August/09-ag-835.html.
11 Department of Justice and Department of Defense, “Departments of Justice and Defense Announce Forum
Decisions for Ten Guantanamo Bay Detainees,” press release, November 13, 2009, http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/
2009/November/09-ag-1224.html [hereinafter “DOJ Announcement”].
12 These detainees are Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh,
Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi.
13 DOJ Announcement, supra footnote 11. The requirements are imposed by provisions contained in the Supplemental
Appropriations Act, 2009 (P.L. 111-32, § 14103), Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L.
(continued...)
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Although its deadline for the closure of the Guantanamo detention facility has not been met, the
Administration has stated that it remains committed to closing the facility as expeditiously as
possible. In December 2009, President Obama issued a memorandum directing the Attorney
General and Secretary of Defense to take steps to acquire the Thomson Correctional Facility in
Thomson, Illinois, so that at least some Guantanamo detainees may be relocated there for
continued internment.15
On January 22, 2010, the Washington Post reported that the Guantanamo Task Force had
completed review of detainees currently held at Guantanamo. The Task Force has reportedly
decided that, of the detainees currently held, “about 35 … should be prosecuted in federal or
military courts; at least 110 … can be released, either immediately or eventually; and … nearly 50
… must be detained without trial” in preventive detention.16
The New York Times has reported that Administration officials do not believe that the closure of
the Guantanamo detention facility can be effectuated until 2011.17 The delay in effectuating the
closure of Guantanamo is at least partially based on current legislative bars on the use of funds to
effectuate the transfer of detainees into the United States for reasons other than prosecution, as
well as the need for additional appropriations to acquire and secure the Thomson facility in order
to house relocated detainees.18
The possible closure of the Guantanamo detention facility raises a number of legal issues with
respect to the individuals presently interned there, particularly if those detainees are transferred to
the United States. The nature and scope of constitutional protections owed to detainees within the
United States may be different from those available to persons held at Guantanamo or elsewhere.
This may have implications for the continued detention or prosecution of persons transferred to
the United States. The transfer of detainees to the United States may have additional
consequences, as some detainees might qualify for asylum or other protections under immigration
law. The Executive Order issued by President Obama also contemplates that the Administration
“work with Congress on any legislation that may be appropriate” relating to the transfer of
detainees to the United States.19
(...continued)
111-83, § 552), National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (P.L. 111-84, § 1041), the Department of the
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-88, § 428), the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-117, Div. B, § 532 ), and the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010
(P.L. 111-118, § 9011).
14 DOJ Announcement, supra footnote 11. In a legal brief filed with the D.C. Circuit in January 2010, the government
noted that the Attorney General decided that the prosecution of an additional detainee should occur before a military
commission, and the convening authority of military commissions must now decide whether to refer charges against
the detainee to a military commission. A copy of this brief is available at http://a.abcnews.go.com/images/Politics/
Final_Brief.pdf.
15 Presidential Memorandum Directing Certain Actions with Respect to Acquisition and Use of Thomson Correctional
Center to Facilitate Closure of Detention Facilities at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, 75 Federal Register 1015,
December 15, 2009.
16 Peter Finn, “Justice Task Force Recommends about 50 Detainees Be Held Indefinitely,” Washington Post, January
22, 2009.
17 Charlie Savage, “Plan to Move Guantánamo Detainees Faces New Delay,” New York Times, December 22, 2009.
18 Id.
19 Executive Order, supra footnote 8, at § 4(c)(5).
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Legislative proposals introduced during the 111th Congress offer dramatically different
approaches to the transfer, detention, and prosecution of Guantanamo detainees. Whereas some
bills effectuate goals articulated in Executive Orders or codify presidential policies into statute,
others reverse or adjust the approach taken by the Executive. Various proposals provide options
for disposition of detainees subsequent to closure of the detention facility, clarify the immigration
status of detainees transferred into the United States, require criminal prosecutions of detainees to
occur in a specified forum (i.e., in federal civilian court, in courts-martial proceedings, or before
military commissions), amend procedural rules governing detainee prosecutions, limit the use of
U.S. funds for transferring detainees, or pursue other measures. The Supplemental Appropriations
Act, 2009 (P.L. 111-32), Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-
83), National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (P.L. 111-84), the Department of
the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-88), the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-117), and the Department of Defense
Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-118), all contain provisions barring funds from being used to
transfer Guantanamo detainees into the United States for release or purposes other than
prosecution, and also restrict funds from being used to transfer detainees into the country for
prosecution prior to the submission of certain reports to Congress. The National Defense
Authorization Act also contains provisions modifying the rules for military commissions, which
may have implications for Guantanamo detainees. The scope and effect of legislative proposals
concerning Guantanamo detainees may be shaped by constitutional constraints. For further
discussion of the legislation introduced in the 111th Congress concerning Guantanamo detainees
and military commissions, see CRS Report R40754, Guantanamo Detention Center: Legislative
Activity in the 111th Congress, by Anna C. Henning; and CRS Report R40932, Comparison of
Rights in Military Commission Trials and Trials in Federal Criminal Court, by Jennifer K. Elsea.
This report provides an overview of major legal issues that are likely to arise as a result of
executive and legislative action to close the Guantanamo detention facility. It discusses legal
issues related to the transfer or release of Guantanamo detainees (either to a foreign country or
into the United States), the continued detention of such persons in the United States, and the
possible removal of persons brought to the United States. It considers selected constitutional
issues that may arise in the criminal prosecution of detainees, emphasizing the procedural and
substantive protections that exist in different adjudicatory forums. Issues discussed include
detainees’ right to a speedy trial, the prohibition against prosecution under ex post facto laws, and
limitations upon the admissibility of hearsay and secret evidence in criminal cases. These issues
are likely to be relevant not only to the treatment of Guantanamo detainees, but also to other
terrorist suspects and/or enemy combatants apprehended by the United States in the future.
Detainee Transfer or Release from Guantanamo
Any proposal to close the Guantanamo detention facility must necessarily address the transfer of
persons currently detained there. While some detainees may be transferred to other countries for
continued detention or release, some proposals to close the Guantanamo detention facility have
contemplated transferring at least some detainees to the United States, either for continued
detention or, in the case of some detainees who are not considered a threat to U.S. security,
possible release.20
20Initially, the Obama Administration considered the possibility of releasing at least some Guantanamo detainees who
are not considered a threat into the United States. See Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, “Media
(continued...)
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Transfer/Release of Guantanamo Detainees to a Country other than
the United States
The vast majority of persons initially transferred to Guantanamo for preventive detention have
been transferred to other countries, either for continued detention by the receiving country or for
release.21 Decisions to transfer a detainee to another country have been based upon a
determination by U.S. officials that (1) the detainee is not an enemy combatant or (2) while the
detainee was properly designated as an enemy combatant, his continued detention by the United
States is no longer warranted.22 A decision by military authorities that the continued detention of
an enemy combatant is no longer appropriate is based on a number of factors, including a
determination that the detainee no longer poses a threat to the United States and its allies.
Generally, if continued detention is no longer deemed necessary, the detainee is transferred to the
control of another government for his release.23 The DOD also transfers enemy belligerents to
other countries for continued detention, investigation, and/or prosecution when those
governments are willing to accept responsibility for ensuring that the transferred person will not
pose a continuing threat to the United States and its allies.24
Domestic and international legal requirements may constrain the ability of the United States to
transfer persons to foreign countries if they might face torture or other forms of persecution. Most
notably, Article 3 of the U.N. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) and its implementing legislation prohibit the transfer
of persons to countries where there are substantial grounds for believing (i.e., it would be “more
likely than not”) that they would be subjected to torture.25 The Bush Administration took the
position that CAT Article 3 and its implementing legislation did not cover the transfer of foreign
persons held outside the United States in the “war on terror.”26
Nonetheless, the DOD has stated that “it is the policy of the United States, consistent with the
approach taken by the United States in implementing ... [CAT], not to repatriate or transfer ...
(...continued)
Roundtable Discussion,” March 26, 2009, available at http://www.dni.gov/interviews/20090326_interview.pdf.
Congress subsequently enacted a series of appropriations and authorization measures that barred funds from being used
to release Guantanamo detainees into the United States or specified U.S. territories. Supplemental Appropriations Act,
2009 (P.L. 111-32), Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-83), National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (P.L. 111-84), the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-88), the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-117), and the
Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-118).
21 See Guantanamo Docket, supra footnote 2.
22 Declaration of Joseph Benkert, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Security Affairs, DOD,
executed on June 8, 2007, at para. 3, In re Guantanamo Bay Detainee Litigation, Case No. 1:05-cv-01220 (D.D.C.
2007).
23 Id.
24 Id.
25 Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, G.A. Res. 39/46,
Annex, 39 U.N. GAOR Supp. No. 51, U.N. Doc. A/39/51 (1984). CAT Article 3 requirements were implemented by
the United States pursuant to the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998, P.L. 105-277 [hereinafter
“FARRA”]. For further background, see CRS Report RL32276, The U.N. Convention Against Torture: Overview of
U.S. Implementation Policy Concerning the Removal of Aliens, by Michael John Garcia.
26 United States Written Response to Questions Asked by the Committee Against Torture, April 28, 2006, available at
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/68554.htm.
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[Guantanamo detainees] to other countries where it believes it is more likely than not that they
will be tortured.”27 When the transfer of a Guantanamo detainee is deemed appropriate, the
United States seeks diplomatic assurances that the person will be treated humanely by the foreign
government accepting the transfer. If such assurances are not deemed sufficiently reliable, the
transfer will not be executed until the concerns of U.S. officials are satisfactorily resolved.28 The
use of diplomatic assurances in Guantanamo transfer decisions is similar to the practice
sometimes employed by U.S. authorities when determining whether the extradition of a person or
the removal of an alien by immigration authorities would comply with CAT requirements. In
April 2009, a D.C. Circuit panel held that a government determination that a detainee would not
be tortured if transferred to a particular country is not subject to district court review in habeas
proceedings challenging the proposed transfer.29
Of the persons held at Guantanamo who have been cleared for transfer or release, several dozen
reportedly remain at Guantanamo either because no country will accept the detainee, or because
human rights concerns have caused the United States to refrain from transferring the detainee to a
country willing to accept him. A significant number of detainees could also potentially be
transferred to other countries for continued detention if the United States was assured that the
receiving country could manage the threat they pose.30 Whether future diplomatic efforts will
effectuate the transfer of some or all of these persons to third countries remains to be seen.
In recent years, legislative proposals have been introduced that would impose more stringent
requirements upon the transfer of military detainees to foreign countries, particularly when the
transfer might raise human rights concerns. These proposals have generally sought to establish
standards for the acceptance of diplomatic assurances by transfer authorities, and require
subsequent monitoring of the treatment of a transferred detainee.31 In January 2009, President
Obama issued an Executive Order creating a special task force to review U.S. transfer policies to
ensure compliance with applicable legal requirements.32 In August, the task force issued
recommendations to ensure that U.S. transfer practices comply with applicable standards and do
not result in the transfer of persons to face torture.33 These recommendations include
strengthening procedures used to obtain assurances from a country that a person will not face
torture if transferred there, including through the establishment of mechanisms to monitor the
27 Benkert Declaration, supra footnote 22, at para. 6.
28 Id. at para. 7.
29 Kiyemba v. Obama, 561 F.3d 509 (D.C. Cir. 2009) (“Kiyemba II”), rehearing en banc denied (July 27, 2009).
30 For example, the United States had negotiations with Yemen to transfer a significant number of Guantanamo
detainees who are Yemeni nationals to that country. These negotiations have reportedly proven unsuccessful in part
because of U.S. concerns regarding the sufficiency of Yemeni measures to minimize the threat posed by some
detainees. Brookings Report, supra footnote 2, at 22-23; Matt Apuzzo, “‘No Progress’ on Mass Guantanamo Prisoner
Transfer,” USA Today, July 7, 2008. In January 2010, President Obama announced that, in light of the recent terrorist
activities emanating from Yemen, including alleged Yemeni involvement in the failed Christmas Day bomb attack on
an airline landing in Detroit, the United States “will not be transferring additional detainees back to Yemen at this
time.” White House, Office of the Press Secretary, “Remarks by the President on Security Reviews,” Jan. 5, 2010,
available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-security-reviews.
31 See, e.g., H.R. 1352, 110th Cong. (2007).
32 Executive Order No. 13491, “Ensuring Lawful Interrogations,” 74 Federal Register 4893, January 22, 2009.
33 Department of Justice, “Special Task Force on Interrogations and Transfer Policies Issues Its Recommendations to
the President,” press release, August 24, 2009, http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/August/09-ag-835.html. The Task
Force considered seven types of transfers: extradition, immigration removal proceedings, transfers pursuant to the
Geneva Conventions, transfers from Guantanamo Bay, military transfers within or from Afghanistan, military transfers
within or from Iraq, and transfers pursuant to intelligence authorities.
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treatment of transferred persons. If implemented, such measures might impede the transfer of
some Guantanamo detainees to third countries.
The Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2009 (P.L. 111-32), Department of Homeland Security
Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-83), National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010
(P.L. 111-84), the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations
Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-88), the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-117), and the
Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-118) all contain provisions barring
funds from being used to effectuate the transfer of a Guantanamo detainee to a foreign State
unless, 15 days prior to such transfer, the President submits a classified report to Congress
concerning the identity of the detainee, the risk the transfer poses to U.S. security, and the terms
of any agreement with the receiving country concerning the acceptance of the individual,
including any financial assistance related to the agreement.
Transfer of Detainees into the United States
Most proposals to end the detention of foreign belligerents at Guantanamo contemplate the
transfer of at least some detainees into the United States, either for continued preventive
detention, prosecution before a military or civilian court, or in the case of detainees who are not
deemed a threat to U.S. security, possible release. As mentioned earlier, several appropriations
and authorization measures enacted by Congress have barred funds from being used to effectuate
the release of Guantanamo detainees into the United States. They also bar the use of appropriated
funds to transfer detainees into the United States (and specified territories), but provide an
exception for the transfer of detainees for prosecution or continued detention during legal
proceedings34 when the President fulfills specified reporting requirements.
The transfer of detainees into the United States may have implications under immigration law.
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) establishes rules and requirements for the entry and
presence of aliens in the United States, and provides grounds for the exclusion or removal of
aliens on account of certain activities. The INA generally bars the entry into the United States or
continued presence of aliens involved in terrorism-related activity.35 Under current law, most
persons currently detained at Guantanamo would generally be barred from admission into the
United States on terrorism- and other security-related grounds under normal circumstances. Even
if a detainee is not inadmissible or removable (“deportable”) on such grounds, he may still be
inadmissible or removable under other INA provisions.36 Accordingly, even in the absence of
recent legislative enactments barring the use of funds to release Guantanamo detainees into the
United States, the INA would generally preclude most detainees from being released into the
country, as such aliens would be subject to removal under immigration law.
34 P.L. 111-32, § 14103(c); P.L. 111-83, § 552(c); P.L. 111-88, § 428(c); P.L. 111-117, § 532(c); P.L. 111-118,
§9011(c). Because the phrase “legal proceedings” is not defined in any of the acts or discussed in any detail in their
legislative history, it is unclear what it encompasses. P.L. 111-32 was the first measure in which the phrase “for the
purposes of prosecuting such individual, or detaining such individual during legal proceedings” appears. The
conference report for that act states that the agreed-upon language “prohibits current detainees from being transferred to
the U.S., except to be prosecuted,” H.Rept. 111-151 at 141, which suggests a narrow meaning of the phrase. An
alternative argument might be that the phrase “legal proceedings” arguably extends to non-prosecution proceedings
such as resolution of petitions for habeas corpus relief.
35 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(3); 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(4). For background, see CRS Report RL32564, Immigration: Terrorist
Grounds for Exclusion and Removal of Aliens, by Michael John Garcia and Ruth Ellen Wasem.
36 See 8 U.S.C. § 1182 (grounds for alien inadmissibility); 8 U.S.C. § 1227 (grounds for deportation).
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The INA’s restrictions upon the entry of certain categories of aliens do not appear to necessarily
bar executive authorities from transferring wartime detainees into the United States for continued
detention or prosecution. During World War II, reviewing courts did not consider an alien
prisoner of war’s involuntary transfer to the United States for purposes of military detention to
constitute an “entry” under immigration laws.37 Although immigration laws have been amended
since that time to expressly apply to certain categories of aliens involuntarily brought to the
United States (e.g., those individuals apprehended in U.S. or international waters),38 these
modifications do not directly address the ability of the United States to intern alien enemy
belligerents in the United States. Additionally, it could be argued that the 2001 AUMF, which
grants the President authority to use all “necessary and appropriate force” against those
responsible for the 9/11 attacks, impliedly authorizes the President to detain captured belligerents
in the United States, even though such persons would generally be barred from entry under the
INA.39
Even assuming that the INA’s restrictions on alien admissibility are applicable to military
detainees, the executive branch could still effectuate their transfer into the United States pursuant
to its “parole” authority. In the immigration context, parole is a discretionary authority that may
be exercised on a case-by-case basis to permit inadmissible aliens to physically enter the United
States, including when the alien’s entry or stay serves a “significant public benefit.”40 The entry
37 See United States ex rel. Bradley v. Watkins, 163 F.2d 328 (2nd Cir. 1947) (alien involuntarily brought to the United
States by U.S. warship for detention had not “departed” a foreign port within the meaning of Immigration Act of 1924
provision defining an “immigrant”); In re Territo, 156 F.2d 142, 145-146 (9th Cir. 1946) (“It is proper to note that
petitioner was brought to this country under a war measure by orders of the military authorities as a prisoner of war and
not in accord with nor under the immigration laws limiting and regulating entries of residents or nationals of another
nation.”). Subsequent developments in immigration law, including with respect to alien eligibility for asylum and
deferral of removal under CAT-implementing regulations, may nonetheless have implications for the transfer of alien
detainees into the United States, particularly if they must be released from military custody. See infra at “Transfer of
Detainees into the United States” and “Removal of Detainees from the United States.”
38 As amended in 1996, the INA now provides that “An alien present in the United States who has not been admitted or
who arrives in the United States (whether or not at a designated port of arrival and including an alien who is brought to
the United States after having been interdicted in international or United States waters) shall be deemed for purposes
of this Act an applicant for admission.” 8 U.S.C. § 1225(a)(1) (emphasis added). In an unpublished opinion, the Board
of Immigration Appeals (BIA), the highest administrative body responsible for interpreting and applying immigration
laws, interpreted the 1996 amendment to the INA as overruling earlier circuit court jurisprudence (including WWII-era
cases concerning the applicability of immigration laws to military detainees brought to the United States) to the extent
that such jurisprudence recognized that any “alien who is involuntarily brought to the United States by agents of the
United States is not considered to be an immigrant within the meaning of the immigration laws.” In Re Alexander
Navarro-Fierro, 2004 WL 1167275 (BIA Jan. 16, 2004) (per curium) (ruling that an alien interdicted in international
waters and brought to the United States to face criminal prosecution for drug smuggling was considered an applicant
for admission under the INA).
39 In Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, 542 U. S. 507 (2004), a majority of the Supreme Court found that Congress had authorized the
President, pursuant to the 2001 AUMF, to detain U.S. citizens properly designated as “enemy combatants” who were
captured in the conflict in Afghanistan. Id. at 518 (O’Connor, J., plurality opinion), 588-589 (Thomas, J., dissenting). A
plurality of the Court held that even assuming that the Non-Detention Act, 18 U.S.C. § 4001(a), which limits detention
of U.S. citizens except pursuant to an act of Congress, was applicable to the detention of U.S. citizens held as enemy
combatants, the AUMF satisfied the act’s requirement that any detention of U.S. citizens be authorized by Congress. Id.
at 517-518 (O’Connor, J., plurality opinion). It could be argued that the Hamdi plurality’s reasoning supports the
argument that the AUMF authorizes the President to transfer noncitizens into the United States for detention, even
though the entry of such persons might otherwise be prohibited under the INA. On the other hand, it could be argued
that the situation is not analogous to the facts at issue in Hamdi. Whereas the Non-Detention Act generally barred the
detention of U.S. citizens “except pursuant to an act of Congress,” similar language is not found in the INA with
respect to alien inadmissibility.
40 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d)(5)(A). For example, fugitives extradited to the United States whose U.S. citizenship cannot be
confirmed are paroled into the United States by immigration authorities. 7 F.A.M. 1625.6.
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of a paroled alien does not constitute admission into the United States for immigration purposes.
Despite physical entry into the country, the alien is “still in theory of law at the boundary line and
had gained no foothold in the United State[s].”41 The executive branch may opt to use its parole
authority with respect to transferred detainees in order to clarify their immigration status in case
they are required to be released from U.S. custody.
As discussed later, an alien’s physical presence in the United States, even in cases where the alien
has been paroled into the country, may result in the alien becoming eligible for asylum or other
forms of immigration-related relief from removal. Several bills introduced during the 111th
Congress address the application of federal immigration laws to the transfer of detainees to the
United States and clarify the immigration status of detainees transferred into the country.42
Notably, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-83), contains
a provision barring any funds made available under the act from being
used to provide any immigration benefit (including a visa, admission into the United States
or any of the United States territories, parole into the United States or any of the United
States territories (other than parole for the purposes of prosecution and related detention), or
classification as a refugee or applicant for asylum) to any individual who is detained, as of
June 24, 2009, at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.43
The Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act also amends Title 49 of the United
States Code to require the placement of any person who has been detained at Guantanamo on the
No Fly List, unless the President certifies to Congress that the detainee poses no threat to the
United States, its citizens, or its allies.44
Detention and Treatment of Persons Transferred to
the United States
Many of the rules and standards governing the detention and treatment of persons at Guantanamo
would remain applicable to detainees transferred into the United States. However, non-citizens
held in the United States may be entitled to more protections under the Constitution than those
detained abroad.
Authority to Detain within the United States
Guantanamo detainees properly determined to be enemy belligerents may be held in preventive
detention by military authorities even if transferred to the United States. In the 2004 case of
Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, a majority of the Supreme Court recognized that, as a necessary incident to
the 2001 AUMF, the President is authorized to detain persons captured while fighting U.S. forces
in Afghanistan for the duration of the conflict.45 A divided Supreme Court also declared that “a
41 Leng May Ma v. Barber, 357 U.S. 185, 189 (1958).
42 See, e.g., S. 108, S. 147, H.R. 374, 111th Cong. (2009).
43 P.L. 111-83, § 552(f) (2009).
44 Id. at § 553.
45 Hamdi, 542 U. S. at 518 (O’Connor, J., plurality opinion), 588-589 (Thomas, J., dissenting).
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state of war is not a blank check for the president,” and ruled that persons who had been deemed
“enemy combatants” by the Bush Administration had the right to challenge their detention before
a judge or other “neutral decision-maker.”46
While the preventive detention of enemy belligerents is constitutionally acceptable, the scope of
persons potentially falling under this category remains uncertain. The Hamdi plurality was
limited to an understanding that the phrase “enemy combatant” includes an “individual who ...
was part of or supporting forces hostile to the United States or coalition partners in Afghanistan
and who engaged in an armed conflict against the United States there.”47 Left unresolved is the
extent to which the 2001 AUMF permits the detention of persons captured away from the zone of
combat, or whether the President has the independent authority to detain such persons in the
exercise of his Commander-in-Chief power. The Court also did not define what constitutes
“support” for hostile forces necessary to acquire enemy belligerent status, or describe the
activities which constitute “engage[ment] in an armed conflict.”
In December 2008, the Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal of an en banc ruling by the
Fourth Circuit in the case of al-Marri v. Pucciarelli, in which a majority of the Court of Appeals
found that the 2001 AUMF permits the detention as an “enemy combatant” of a resident alien
alleged to have planned to engage in hostile activities within the United States on behalf of Al
Qaeda, but who had not been part of the conflict in Afghanistan.48 However, prior to the Supreme
Court considering the merits of the case, al-Marri was indicted by a federal grand jury for
providing material support to Al Qaeda and conspiring with others to provide such support. The
government immediately requested that the Supreme Court dismiss al-Marri’s pending case and
authorize his transfer from military to civilian custody for criminal trial. On March 6, 2009, the
Supreme Court granted the government’s application concerning the transfer of al-Marri, vacated
the Fourth Circuit’s judgment, and remanded the case back to the appellate court with instructions
to dismiss the case as moot.49
As a result, the scope of the Executive’s authority to militarily detain persons captured away from
the battlefield, including alleged members or associates of Al Qaeda or the Taliban who did not
directly engage in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners, will likely remain a
matter of continuing dispute. Federal district court judges who have considered habeas claims by
Guantanamo detainees have differed in their assessment of the scope of the President’s authority
to detain persons under the AUMF.50
46 Id. at 536-537 (O’Connor, J., plurality opinion).
47 Id. at 526.
48 Al-Marri v. Pucciarelli,534 F.3d 213 (4th Cir. 2008), cert. granted by 129 S.Ct. 680 (2008), vacated and remanded
by Al-Marri v. Spagone, 129 S.Ct. 1545 (2009). See also Al-Marri v. Wright, 487 F. 3d 160 (4th Circ. 2007).
49 Al-Marri v. Spagone, 129 S.Ct. 1545 (2009).
50 See, e.g., Mattan v. Obama, 618 F.Supp.2d 24 (D.D.C., May 21, 2009) (Lamberth, C.J.).(while AUMF and laws of
war granted the Executive the authority to detain persons who were “part of” the Taliban , Al Qaeda, or associated
forces, this authority did not extend to non-members who provided “support” to such forces, though support for such
groups would be considered when determining whether a detainee was “part of” them); Hamlily v. Obama, 616
F.Supp.2d 63 (D.D.C. 2009) (Bates, J.) (same); Gherebi v. Obama, 609 F.Supp.2d 43 (D.D.C.,2009) (Walton, J.)
(President has authority to detain persons who were “part of” or “substantially supported” Al Qaeda or the Taliban, so
long as those terms are understood to include only those persons who were members of the enemy forces’ armed forces
at the time of capture); Al-Adahi v. Obama, 2009 WL 2584685 (D.D.C., August 21, 2009) (Kessler, J.)
(same);.Boumediene v. Bush, 583 F.Supp.2d 133 (D.D.C.,2008) (applying “enemy combatant” definition employed by
DOD in 2004 for use in Combatant Status Review Tribunal proceedings, which covered persons who were “part of or
supporting Taliban or al Qaeda forces, or associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its
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In January 2010, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals considered the scope of
executive detention authority in the case of Al-Bihani v. Obama.51 In an opinion supported in full
by two members of the panel,52 the appellate court endorsed the definitional standard for the
Executive’s detention authority that had initially been asserted by the Bush Administration (and
which was somewhat circumscribed by the Obama Administration53); namely, that the President
may detain those persons who were “part of or supporting Taliban or al Qaeda forces, or
associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition
partners.”54 While the panel concluded that either support for or membership in an AUMF-
targeted organization may be independently sufficient to justify detention, it declined “to explore
the outer bounds of what constitutes sufficient support or indicia of membership to meet the
detention standard.”55 It did, however, note that this standard would, for example, permit the
detention of a “civilian contractor” who “purposefully and materially supported” an AUMF-
targeted organization through “traditional food operations essential to a fighting force and the
carrying of arms.”56 The standard endorsed by the panel will be controlling for the D.C. Circuit
unless the decision is overturned either by the Circuit Court of Appeals sitting en banc or the
Supreme Court.
In the absence of legal authority to militarily detain a terrorist suspect, U.S. military authorities
must generally release the person from custody. However, there may be grounds for the person’s
continued detention by U.S. law enforcement or immigration authorities. If a former detainee
brought to the United States is charged with a federal crime, a judicial officer may order his
pretrial detention following a hearing in which it is determined that no other conditions would
reasonably assure the individual’s appearance for trial or the safety of the community or another
individual.57 A former detainee may also potentially be held in detention as a material witness to a
criminal proceeding, including a grand jury proceeding, if a judicial officer orders his arrest and
detention after determining that it may become impracticable to secure the presence of the person
by subpoena.58
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coalition partners … [including] any person who has committed a belligerent act or has directly supported hostilities in
aid of enemy armed forces”).
51 Al-Bihani v. Obama, No. 09-5051, 2010 WL 10411 (D.C. Cir. Jan. 5, 2010).
52 A third member of the panel issued a separate opinion concurring with the majority’s judgment. However, the
opinion did not clearly endorse the majority’s view as to the scope of the Executive’s detention authority. See id., 2010
WL 10411 at *14-15 (Williams, J., concurring) (arguing that petitioner was detainable on account of being “part of” an
AUMF-targeted organization, but not deciding whether a person could be detained on account of “support” for a
targeted organization that he was not also a “part of”).
53 See supra footnote 3. In contrast, the Obama Administration espoused a standard which specified that such support
must be “substantial.”
54 Al-Bihani, No. 09-5051, 2010 WL 10411 at *2.
55 Id. at *4.
56 Id. at *4-5. The panel found that even if petitioner was not a member of an AUMF-targeted organization, his service
as a cook for a military brigade affiliated with Taliban and Al Qaeda forces, in addition to his accompaniment of the
brigade during military operations, constituted sufficient grounds for his detention. Id.
57 18 U.S.C. § 3142. Subject to rebuttal by the person, it is presumed that a person shall be subject to pretrial detention
if the judicial officer finds there is probable cause to believe he has committed a federal crime of terrorism for which a
maximum sentence of 10 or more years’ imprisonment is prescribed. Id. at § 3142(e).
58 18 U.S.C. § 3144.
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If the military lacks authority to hold a detainee brought to the United States and is unable to
effectuate his transfer to another country, the detainee might nonetheless be placed in immigration
removal proceedings and continue being detained pending removal. Detention pending removal is
generally required for aliens inadmissible on criminal or terrorism-related grounds.59 Following a
final order of removal,60 an alien is typically required to be removed within 90 days. During this
period, an alien is usually required to be detained, and in no circumstance may an alien
inadmissible or deportable on any terrorism-related ground or most crime-related grounds be
released from detention.61 If the alien is unable to be removed during the 90-day period provided
by statute, his continued detention for a period beyond six months may be statutorily and
constitutionally prohibited.62 However, those aliens who are specially dangerous to the
community may be subject to continued detention, subject to periodic review. Immigration
regulations permit the continued detention of certain categories of aliens due to special
circumstances, including, inter alia, any alien who is detained on account of (1) serious adverse
foreign policy consequences of release; (2) security or terrorism concerns; or (3) being considered
specially dangerous due to having committed one or more crimes of violence and having a mental
condition making it likely that the alien will commit acts of violence in the future.63
Some proposals in the 111th Congress would clarify executive authority to detain certain wartime
detainees.64 Proposals have also been made to require any alien detainee released from military
custody into the United States to be taken into custody by immigration authorities pending
removal. Although in prior conflicts the United States interned “enemy aliens” and U.S. citizens
who did not participate in hostilities against the United States,65 the scope and effect of proposals
59 8 U.S.C. § 1226. Immigration law also permits an alien to be detained for up to seven days prior to the initiation of
removal proceedings or the charging of the alien with a criminal offense, if the Attorney General certifies that there are
reasonable grounds to believe the alien is inadmissible or deportable on terrorism-related grounds or the alien is
engaged in any other activity that endangers the national security of the United States. 8 U.S.C. § 1226a.
60 The removal period begins on the latest of the following: (1) the date that the order of removal becomes
administratively final; (2) if a reviewing court orders a stay of the removal of the alien, the date of the court’s final
order; or (3) if the alien is detained or confined for non-immigration purposes, the date of the alien’s release. 8 U.S.C.
§ 1231(a)(1)(B).
61 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(2).
62 In Zadvydas v. Davis, the Supreme Court concluded that the indefinite detention of deportable aliens (i.e., aliens
admitted into the United States who were subsequently ordered removed) would raise significant due process concerns.
The Court interpreted an applicable immigration statute governing the removal of deportable and inadmissible aliens as
only permitting the detention of aliens following an order of removal for so long as is “reasonably necessary to bring
about that alien’s removal from the United States. It does not permit indefinite detention.” Zadyvydas v. Davis, 533
U.S. 678, 689 (2001). The Court found that the presumptively reasonable limit for the post-removal-period detention is
six months, but indicated that continued detention may be warranted when the policy is limited to specially dangerous
individuals and strong procedural protections are in place. Id. at 690, 701. Subsequently, the Supreme Court ruled that
aliens who have been paroled into the United States also could not be indefinitely detained, but the Court’s holding was
based on statutory construction of the applicable immigration law, and it did not consider whether such aliens were
owed the same due process protections as aliens who had been legally admitted into the United States. Clark v.
Martinez, 543 U.S. 371 (2005).
63 8 C.F.R. § 241.14.
64 See, e.g., Enemy Combatant Detention Review Act of 2009, H.R. 630, 111th Cong. (2009) (authorizing detention of
persons who have engaged in hostilities or purposefully supported Al Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated organizations).
65 The Alien Enemy Act, which was originally enacted in 1798 as part of the Alien and Sedition Act, grants the
President broad authority, during a declared war or presidentially proclaimed “predatory invasion,” to institute
restrictions affecting alien enemies, including possible detention and deportation. 50 U.S.C. §§ 21-24. In its current
form, the act applies to aliens within the United States who are fourteen years or older, and who are “natives, citizens,
denizens, or subjects of the hostile nation or government” at war with the United States. 50 U.S.C. § 21. This authority
was used frequently during World War I and World War II, and reviewing courts viewed such measures as
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requiring the detention of specified categories of persons other than enemy combatants may be
subject to constitutional challenges.
Treatment of Detained Persons
The rules governing the treatment of Guantanamo detainees would largely remain unchanged if
detainees were transferred to the United States. The DTA provides that no person in the custody
or effective control of the DOD or detained in a DOD facility shall be subject to any interrogation
treatment or technique that is not authorized by and listed in the United States Army Field Manual
on Intelligence Interrogation, unless the person is being held pursuant to U.S. criminal or
immigration laws (in which case the detainee’s interrogation would be governed by applicable
criminal or immigration law enforcement standards).66 The Field Manual requires all detainees to
be treated in a manner consistent with the Geneva Conventions, and prohibits the use of torture or
cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment in any circumstance. In the 2006 case of Hamdan v.
Rumsfeld, the Supreme Court found that, at a minimum, Common Article 3 of the Geneva
Conventions applied to persons captured in the conflict with Al Qaeda.67 Common Article 3
requires persons to be treated humanely and protected from “violence to life and person,” “cruel
treatment and torture,” and “outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and
degrading treatment.” All of these requirements would remain applicable to detainees transferred
into the United States, at least so long as they remained in military custody.
Noncitizen detainees transferred to the United States may also receive greater constitutional
protections than those detained outside the United States. “It is well established that certain
constitutional protections available to persons inside the United States are unavailable to aliens
outside of our geographic borders.”68 Although the Supreme Court in Boumediene held that the
constitutional writ of habeas corpus extends to Guantanamo, it did not elaborate as to the extent
to which other constitutional provisions apply to noncitizens held at Guantanamo.69 In February
2009, a D.C. Circuit panel held in the case of Kiyemba v. Obama that the Constitution’s due
process protections do not extend to Guantanamo detainees.70 On October 20, 2009, the Supreme
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constitutionally permissible. See generally CRS Report RL31724, Detention of American Citizens as Enemy
Combatants, by Jennifer K. Elsea. See also Johnson v. Eisentrager, 339 U.S. 763, 775(1950) (“The resident enemy
alien is constitutionally subject to summary arrest, internment and deportation whenever a ‘declared war’ exists.”);
Ludecke v. Watkins, 335 U.S. 160 (1948) (upholding President’s authority to detain and remove a German citizen
pursuant to the Alien Enemy Act). Whether more recent legal developments concerning the due process protections
owed to noncitizens have come to limit this authority remains to be seen.
66 P.L. 109-148, Title X, § 1002 (2005); P.L. 109-163, Title XIV, § 1402 (2006).
67 Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, 548 U.S. 557 (2006).
68 Zadvydas, 533 U.S. at 693.
69 The application of constitutional provisions other than the Suspension Clause to noncitizens held at Guantanamo is
the subject of ongoing litigation. See Rasul v. Myers, 129 S.Ct. 763 (2008) (vacating pre-Boumediene lower court
judgment that aliens held at Guantanamo lacked constitutional rights under the Fifth and Eighth Amendments, and
remanding the case for further consideration in light of Boumediene decision); Kiyemba v. Obama, 555 F.3d 1022,
1026-27 (D.C.Cir.2009) (“Kiyemba I”) (finding that detainees at Guantanamo lacked rights under the Due Process
Clause), cert. granted, 130 S.Ct. 458 (October 20, 2009).
70 Kiyemba I, 555 F.3d at 1026-1027 (citing Supreme Court and D.C. Circuit cases recognizing that “the due process
clause does not apply to aliens without property or presence in the sovereign territory of the United States”). In a
separate opinion concurring with the judgment of the Kiyemba majority, Judge Judith Rogers disagreed with the
majority’s interpretation of the territorial application of the Constitution’s Due Process Clause, claiming that it was
inconsistent with the Supreme Court’s reasoning in Boumediene. Id. at 1038 (Rogers, J., concurring).
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Court agreed to hear an appeal of the appellate court’s ruling, and arguments will likely be heard
later this year.71 Regardless of the Constitution’s application to persons held at Guantanamo, the
DTA and MCA prohibit any person in U.S. custody or control (including those located at
Guantanamo or elsewhere outside U.S. territory) from being subjected to cruel, inhuman, or
degrading treatment of the kind prohibited by the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments.72
Legal Challenges to Nature of Detention
If transferred to the United States, detainees may be able to seek judicial review over a broader
range of actions taken against them. Besides eliminating detainees’ access to habeas corpus
review, the DTA and MCA stripped federal courts of jurisdiction to hear most claims by
noncitizen detainees. Specifically, federal courts are denied jurisdiction over
any other action against the United States or its agents relating to any aspect of the detention,
transfer, treatment, trial, or conditions of confinement of an alien who is or was detained by
the United States and has been determined by the United States to have been properly
detained as an enemy combatant or is awaiting such determination.73
Although the Boumediene Court held that the constitutional writ of habeas permitted
Guantanamo detainees to challenge the legality of their detention, the Court declined to “discuss
the reach of the writ with respect to claims of unlawful conditions of treatment or confinement.”74
Because the Boumediene Court left these questions unresolved, the viability of measures stripping
courts of jurisdiction to hear claims regarding the conditions of detention may depend upon a
reviewing court’s interpretation of the constitutional protections owed to detainees.75 While
measures that eliminate detainees’ ability to pursue statute- or treaty-based challenges to aspects
71 Kiyemba v. Obama, 130 S.Ct. 458 (October 20, 2009).
72 P.L. 109-148, Title X, § 1003; P.L. 109-163, Title XIV, § 1402; P.L. 109-366, § 6(c).
73 P.L. 109-366, § 7(a). While the DTA initially stripped federal courts of jurisdiction only over claims raised by aliens
held at Guantanamo, the MCA’s restriction upon federal court jurisdiction applies to claims by any alien in U.S.
custody who is properly detained as an enemy combatant or awaiting such a determination, regardless of the alien’s
location.
74 Boumediene, 128 S.Ct. at 2264.
75 In April 2009, a D.C. Circuit panel interpreted this court-stripping provision’s use of the phrase “any other action” as
referring to legal claims other than a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Kiyemba II, 561 F.3d at 513. In that case, the
panel found that habeas courts could consider not only Guantanamo detainees’ challenges to the legality of their
detention, but also their proposed transfer to another country (though habeas review of such transfers may be quite
limited). Id. at 513-514. Accordingly, whether Guantanamo detainees may challenge their conditions of confinement
may depend on whether a reviewing court considers these conditions to be “a proper subject of … habeas relief.” Id. at
513. Habeas courts have thus far rejected challenges by Guantanamo detainees relating to their conditions of detention.
See, e.g., See Khadr v. Bush, 587 F.Supp.2d 225, 235 (D.D.C., 2008) (“the Supreme Court appears to have left ... [the
MCA’s bar on judicial review of conditions of detention] undisturbed”); In re Guantanamo Bay Detainee Litigation,
577 F.Supp.2d 312, 314 (D.D.C.2008) (Hogan, J.) (“Cognizant of the long-standing rule of severability, this Court,
therefore, holds that MCA2006 MCA § 7(a)(2) remains valid and strips it of jurisdiction to hear a detainee’s claims that
‘relat[e] to any aspect of the detention, transfer, treatment, trial, or conditions of confinement ...’”). See also In re
Guantanamo Bay Detainee Litigation, 570 F.Supp.2d 13 (D.D.C.2008) (Urbina, J.) (holding that MCA § 7(a)(2) was
not invalidated by Boumediene, but declining to decide whether the constitutional writ of habeas permits challenges to
conditions of confinement). The rejection of challenges to conditions of confinement may be based, at least in part,
upon the opinion that any such claim by Guantanamo detainees does not derive from a constitutional protection to
which they are entitled. See Kiyemba I, 555 F.3d at 1026-27 (finding that detainees at Guantanamo lacked rights under
the Due Process Clause), cert. granted, 130 S.Ct. 458 (October 20, 2009).
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of their detention may be deemed permissible by a reviewing court,76 measures that seek to
eliminate (rather than merely circumscribe) detainees’ ability to bring constitutional challenges
regarding the circumstances of their detention would likely be subject to serious legal challenge.
Although the scope of constitutional protections owed to Guantanamo detainees remains a matter
of legal dispute, it is clear that the procedural and substantive due process protections of the
Constitution apply to all persons within the United States, regardless of their citizenship.77
Accordingly, detainees transferred to the United States might be able to more successfully pursue
legal challenges against aspects of their detention that allegedly infringe upon constitutional
protections owed to them.
Removal of Detainees from the United States
If there are no longer grounds to hold a detainee, the United States must terminate custody either
through transfer or release. Persons held in the United States may have greater legal redress
against their unwilling transfer to another country than those held abroad, and may potentially
seek judicial review of transfer decisions through habeas proceedings.
CAT Article 3 and its implementing legislation prohibit the transfer of detainees from the United
States to countries where they would more likely than not face torture. This prohibition is
absolute and without regard to whether an individual has been involved in terrorist or criminal
activity. While the Bush Administration took the position that CAT Article 3 and its implementing
legislation do not govern the transfer of detainees held outside the United States, there appears to
be little if any dispute regarding CAT’s application to transfers from the United States. 78
76 See Al-Bihani v. Obama, No. 09-5051, 2010 WL 10411, at *6 (D.C. Cir. Jan. 5, 2010) (2006 MCA precluded
petitioner from raising claim that government’s failure to accord him prisoner of war status violated Geneva
Convention requirements). Noriega v. Pastrana, 564 F.3d 1290 (11th Cir. 2009) (MCA precluded petitioner, a
designated prisoner of war under the Geneva Conventions, from invoking Conventions in challenge to his proposed
extradition to France).
77 Zadvydas, 533 U.S. at 693 (“the Due Process Clause applies to all ‘persons’ within the United States, including
aliens, whether their presence here is lawful, unlawful, temporary or permanent”); Wong Wing v. United States, 163
U.S. 228, 238 (1896) (“all persons within the territory of the United States are entitled to the protection guarantied by
[the Fifth and Sixth Amendments], and … aliens shall not be held to answer for a capital or other infamous crime,
unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process
of law”).
78 U.S. law implementing CAT generally specifies that no judicial appeal or review is available for any action, decision
or claim raised under CAT, except as part of a review of a final immigration removal order. FARRA, § 2242(d). The
ability of a person to raise a CAT-based claim in non-removal proceedings (e.g., in the case of extradition or military
transfers), is the subject of debate and conflicting jurisprudence. Compare Mironescu v. Costner, 480 F.3d 664 (4th Cir.
2007), cert. dismissed, 128 S.Ct. 976 (U.S. Jan. 9, 2008) (finding that CAT-implementing legislation precludes review
of CAT-based habeas petition in extradition proceedings); O.K. v. Bush, 377 F.Supp.2d 102, n. 17 (D.D.C. 2005)
(finding that CAT-based claims were not cognizable in Guantanamo transfer decisions); with Cornejo-Barreto v.
Seifert, 218 F.3d 1004 (9th Cir. 2000) (finding that an individual subject to an extradition order may appeal under the
Administrative Procedures Act (APA), when his surrender would be contrary to U.S. laws and regulations
implementing CAT), disapproved in later appeal, 379 F.3d 1075 (9th Cir. 2004), opinion of later appeal vacated on
rehearing by 389 F.3d 1307 (9th Cir. 2004). It should also be noted that although U.S. legislation implementing CAT
required all relevant agencies to adopt regulations implementing CAT Article 3 requirements, the DOD has yet to
implement such measures. It could be argued that the DOD could not transfer a detainee from the United States to a
third country until CAT-implementing regulations were promulgated. See Robert M. Chesney, “Leaving Guantánamo:
The Law of International Detainee Transfers,” 40 U. Rich. L. Rev. 657 (2006) (arguing that detainees may have a right
to compel the DOD to promulgate CAT-implementing regulations).
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Detainees transferred to the United States who may no longer be held by military authorities
might potentially seek relief from removal under U.S. immigration laws. An alien who is
physically present or arrives in the United States, regardless of immigration status, may apply for
asylum, a discretionary form of relief from removal available to aliens who have a well-founded
fear of persecution if transferred to another country. Persons granted asylum may thereafter apply
for adjustment of status to that of a legal permanent resident. Certain potentially over-lapping
categories of aliens are disqualified from asylum eligibility, including those involved in terrorism-
related activity (including members of the Taliban and Al Qaeda) and those who are reasonably
believed to pose a danger to U.S. security.79 Nonetheless, it is possible that some detainees who
have been found not to have fought on behalf of the Taliban or Al Qaeda may qualify for asylum
or other forms of relief from removal if transferred to the United States. Further, if a detainee is
declared ineligible for asylum or another form of relief from removal and is thereafter ordered
removed by immigration officials, immigration authorities may be required to provide evidence
forming the basis of this determination in the face of a legal challenge by the detainee.80 It is
important to note that asylum only constitutes relief from removal under immigration laws. It
would not bar the transfer of a detainee pursuant to some other legal authority (e.g., extradition).
As discussed, proposals may be considered that would clarify the application of immigration laws
to Guantanamo detainees transferred to the United States. Secretary of Defense Gates has stated
that the Obama Administration will seek legislation from Congress addressing detainees’
immigration status, possibly including barring them from asylum eligibility.81 As previously
mentioned, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-83),
contains a provision barring any funds made available under the act from being used to provide
any immigration benefit to Guantanamo detainees brought to the United States, or to provide for a
detainee’s classification as a refugee or applicant for asylum.82
Detainees’ Rights in a Criminal Prosecution
While many persons currently held at Guantanamo are only being detained as a preventive
measure to stop them from returning to battle, the United States has brought or intends to pursue
criminal charges against some detainees. Various constitutional provisions, most notably those
arising from the Fifth and Sixth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, apply to defendants
throughout the process of criminal prosecutions. Prosecuting the Guantanamo detainees inside the
United States would raise at least two major legal questions. First, does a detainee’s status as an
enemy belligerent reduce the degree of constitutional protections to which he is entitled?
Secondly, would the choice of judicial forum—i.e., civilian court, military commission, or court-
martial—affect interpretations of constitutional rights implicated in detainee prosecutions?
As previously discussed, the nature and extent to which the Constitution applies to noncitizens
detained at Guantanamo is a matter of continuing legal dispute. Although the Supreme Court held
in Boumediene that the constitutional writ of habeas extends to detainees held at Guantanamo, it
left open the nature and degree to which other constitutional protections, including those relating
79 8 U.S.C. § 1158(b)(2). Members of terrorist organizations are inadmissible and ineligible for asylum. U.S. law
specifies that the Taliban is a terrorist organization for INA purposes. P.L. 110-161, Div. J, § 691(d) (2007).
80 8 U.S.C. § 1252.
81 Yochi J. Dreazen, “Gates Seeks Congress’s Help in Closing Guantanamo,” Wall Street Journal, December 3, 2008.
82 P.L. 111-83, § 552(f) (2009).
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to substantive and procedural due process, may also apply. The Boumediene Court noted that the
Constitution’s application to noncitizens in places like Guantanamo located outside the United
States turns on “objective factors and practical concerns.”83 The Court has also repeatedly
recognized that at least some constitutional protections are “unavailable to aliens outside our
geographic borders.”84 The application of constitutional principles to the prosecution of aliens
located at Guantanamo remains unsettled.
On the other hand, it is clear that if Guantanamo detainees are subject to criminal prosecution in
United States, the constitutional provisions related to such proceedings would apply.85 However,
the application of these constitutional requirements might differ depending upon the forum in
which charges are brought. The Fifth Amendment’s requirement that no person be held to answer
for a capital or infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, and the
Sixth Amendment’s requirements concerning trial by jury, have been found to be inapplicable to
trials by military commissions or courts-martial.86 The application of due process protections in
military court proceedings may also differ from civilian court proceedings, in part because the
Constitution “contemplates that Congress has ‘plenary control over rights, duties, and
responsibilities in the framework of the Military Establishment, including regulations,
procedures, and remedies related to military discipline.’”87 In the past, courts have been more
accepting of security measures taken against “enemy aliens” than U.S. citizens, particularly as
they relate to authority to detain or restrict movement on grounds of wartime security.88 It is
possible that the rights owed to enemy belligerents in criminal prosecutions would be interpreted
more narrowly by a reviewing court than those owed to defendants in other, more routine cases,
particularly when the constitutional right at issue is subject to a balancing test.
There are several forums in which detainees could potentially be prosecuted for alleged criminal
activity, including in federal civilian court, in general courts-martial proceedings, or before
military commissions. The procedural protections afforded to the accused in each of these forums
may differ, along with the types of offenses for which the accused may be prosecuted. The MCA
authorized the establishment of military commissions with jurisdiction to try alien “unlawful
enemy combatants” for offenses made punishable by the MCA or the law of war, and afforded the
accused fewer procedural protections than would be available to defendants in military courts-
83 Boumediene, 128 S.Ct. at 2258.
84 Zadyvdas, 533 U.S. at 693. See also Verdugo-Urquidez v. United States, 494 U.S. 259, 270-71 (1990) (“aliens
receive constitutional protections when they have come within the territory of the United States and developed
substantial connections with the country”).
85 See Ex Parte Quirin, 317 U.S. 1, 25 (1942) (denying motion for leave to file writ of habeas corpus by eight German
saboteurs tried by military commission in the United States, but noting that “Constitutional safeguards for the
protection of all who are charged with offenses are not to be disregarded in order to inflict merited punishment on some
who are guilty”).
86 See, e.g., Whelchel v. McDonald, 340 U.S. 122 (1950) (“The right to trial by jury guaranteed by the Sixth
Amendment is not applicable to trials by courts-martial or military commissions.”); Quirin, 317 U.S. at 40 (“we must
conclude that § 2 of Article III and the Fifth and Sixth Amendments cannot be taken to have extended the right to
demand a jury to trials by military commission, or to have required that offenses against the law of war not triable by
jury at common law be tried only in the civil courts”). See also U.S. Const., amend. V (“No person shall be held to
answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases
arising in the land or naval forces”)(italics added).
87 Weiss v. United States, 510 U.S. 163, 177 (1994) (upholding a narrowed interpretation of Fifth Amendment due
process rights for the context of military courts)(quoting Chappell v. Wallace, 462 U.S. 296, 301 (1983).
88 See supra footnote 65 and accompanying citations.
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martial or federal civilian court proceedings.89 The statutory framework for military commissions
was amended in October 2009 by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010
(P.L. 111-84), so that the procedural protections afforded to the accused (now referred to as alien
“unprivileged enemy belligerents”90) more closely resemble those found in military courts-martial
proceedings, though differences between the two forums remain.91 The modifications made by the
National Defense Authorization Act are discussed in detail in CRS Report R40932, Comparison
of Rights in Military Commission Trials and Trials in Federal Criminal Court, by Jennifer K.
Elsea. Critics raised questions regarding the constitutionality of the military commission system
initially established by the MCA,92 and some of these arguments may also be raised even
following the amendments made by the National Defense Authorization Act. Courts have yet to
rule on the constitutional legitimacy of many procedures used by military commissions. Military
commissions are not statutorily restricted from exercising jurisdiction within the United States,
and the Supreme Court has previously upheld the use of commissions against enemy belligerents
tried in the United States.93
Presently, 10 Guantanamo detainees have charges referred for trial by military commission,94
though ongoing proceedings in these cases were effectively halted following President Obama’s
Executive Order. The DOJ and DOD announced in November 2009 that prosecutions against five
of these detainees may be resumed in that forum.95
Detainees could also potentially be prosecuted in federal civilian court for offenses under federal
criminal statutes. Provisions in the U.S. Criminal Code relating to war crimes and terrorist
activity apply extraterritorially and may be applicable to some detainees, though ex post facto and
statute of limitation concerns may limit their application to certain offenses.96 In June 2009, a
Guantanamo detainee was transferred to the United States for prosecution in federal civilian court
for his alleged role in the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya.97 In
89 See generally CRS Report RL33688, The Military Commissions Act of 2006: Analysis of Procedural Rules and
Comparison with Previous DOD Rules and the Uniform Code of Military Justice, by Jennifer K. Elsea. The MCA
defined “unlawful enemy combatant” as a person who: (1) “has engaged in hostilities or who has purposefully and
materially supported hostilities against the United States or its co-belligerents who is not a lawful enemy combatant,”
or (2) “has been determined to be an unlawful enemy combatant by a Combatant Status Review Tribunal or another
competent tribunal” by a certain date. 10 U.S.C. § 948a(1) (2008).
90 The term “unprivileged enemy belligerent” is defined to include an individual (other than a “privileged belligerent”
belonging to one of the eight categories enumerated in Article 4 of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of
Prisoners of War) who “(A) has engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners; (B) has
purposefully and materially supported hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners; or (C) was a part of
al Qaeda at the time of the alleged offense under this chapter.” P.L. 111-84, § 1802 (amending, inter alia, 10 U.S.C.
§ 948a).
91 Prior to the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act, the DOD announced certain modifications to
commission procedures which, in some cases, would have made them more similar to the procedures employed in
courts-martial. A copy of a DOD memo describing these changes can be viewed at http://www.nimj.org/documents/
2009%20DoD%20MMC%20Changes.pdf.
92 See Brookings Report, supra footnote 2, at p. 8. Information regarding ongoing and completed cases can be viewed
at http://www.defenselink.mil/news/commissions.html.
93 See Quirin, 317 U.S. at 31 (upholding military commissions used to try eight German saboteurs in the United States).
94 See Brookings Report Update, supra footnote 2 (listing detainees who have had charges referred to trial before a
military commission as of October 21, 2009).
95 DOJ Announcement, supra footnote 11.
96 See 18 U.S.C. chapter 113B (terrorism-related offenses); 18 U.S.C. § 2441.
97 Department of Justice, “Ahmed Ghailani Transferred from Guantanamo Bay to New York for Prosecution on Terror
Charges,” press release, June 9, 2009, http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/June/09-ag-563.html.
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November 2009, the DOJ and DOD announced that five more detainees shall be transferred into
the country for prosecution before a federal civilian court for their alleged role in the 9/11
terrorist attacks.98
Although they have yet to be used for this purpose, military courts-martial could also be
employed to try detainees by exercising jurisdiction under the Uniform Code of Military Justice
(UCMJ) over persons subject to military tribunals under the law of war.99 Detainees brought
before military-courts martial could be charged with offenses under the UCMJ and the law of
war, though courts-martial rules concerning the accused’s right to a speedy trial, as well as statute
of limitations issues, may pose an obstacle to prosecution.100
Presently, the Executive has discretion in deciding the appropriate forum in which to prosecute
detainees. As previously discussed, President Obama has issued an Executive Order that (at least
temporarily) effectively halted military commission trials, and also required designated officials
to assess the feasibility of prosecuting some detainees in federal civilian court. It is possible that
legislative proposals may be introduced which require prosecutions to occur in a particular forum
or modify the procedural rules applicable to the prosecution of detainees. Pursuant to existing
statutory authorization, the Executive could also potentially modify military commission
procedural rules to some degree, including by amending existing procedures so that they more
closely resemble those employed by courts-martial.101 Proposals may also be considered to create
an entirely new forum for the prosecution of detainees, such as a national security court.102 The
scope and effect of such proposals may be shaped by constitutional constraints, including with
respect to the rights owed to the accused in criminal proceedings.
The following sections discuss selected constitutional issues that may arise in the criminal
prosecution of detainees, emphasizing the procedural and substantive protections that are utilized
in different adjudicatory forums.
Right to Assistance of Counsel
Detainees brought to the United States would have a constitutional right to assistance of counsel
in any criminal prosecution. The procedural rules for federal civilian courts, courts-martial, and
military commissions all provide a defendant with the right to assistance of counsel. Depending
upon the forum in which the detainee is tried, the particular procedural rules concerning a
defendant’s exercise of this right may differ.
98 DOJ Announcement, supra footnote 11.
99 10 U.S.C. § 818 (“General courts-martial also have jurisdiction to try any person who by the law of war is subject to
trial by a military tribunal and may adjudge any punishment permitted by the law of war.”).
100 Id.
101 The MCA provides that the Secretary of Defense may prescribe rules of evidence and procedure for military
commissions not inconsistent with the MCA. Rules applicable to courts-martial under the UCMJ are to apply except as
otherwise specified. 10 U.S.C. § 949a(a). Pursuant to this authority, the Secretary of Defense published the Manual for
Military Commissions, including the Rules for Military Commissions and the Military Commission Rules of Evidence.
Under the amendments made by the National Defense Authorization Act, the Secretary of Defense retains authority to
prescribe rules for military commissions that are not inconsistent with the act’s requirements.
102 See, e.g., Jack L. Goldsmith and Neal Katyal, op-ed, “The Terrorists’ Court,” New York Times, July 11, 2007; Stuart
Taylor, Jr., “The Case for a National Security Court,” The Atlantic, February 27, 2008.
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The Sixth Amendment guarantees a criminal defendant the right “to have the Assistance of
Counsel for his defence.” This constitutional protection affords a defendant the right to retain
counsel of his or her choosing and an opportunity to consult with that counsel.103 Where a
criminal defendant cannot afford to retain a lawyer to assist in his or her defense, such counsel
will be appointed by the court.104 The court must advise a criminal defendant of his or her right to
counsel and must ask the defendant whether he or she wishes to waive that right.105 A defendant
can waive a right to assistance of counsel only if that waiver is knowing, voluntary, and
intelligent.106 However, the defendant need not fully and completely comprehend all of the
consequences of that waiver.107 This right also encompasses the right of a defendant to represent
himself or herself, if the defendant intelligently and knowingly chooses to do so.108 The Sixth
Amendment right to counsel is the right to the effective assistance of counsel.109 The standard for
determining whether a defendant has received ineffective assistance of counsel is two-fold. The
attorney’s performance must have been deficient, and the prejudice to the defense resulting from
the attorney’s deficient performance must be so serious as to bring into question the outcome of
the proceeding.110 If there is an actual breakdown in the adversarial process, such as a case
involving “circumstances that are so likely to prejudice the accused that the cost of litigating their
effect in a particular case is unjustified,” the Sixth Amendment is violated.111
In the federal civilian courts, the right to counsel is implemented under Rule 44 of the Federal
Rules of Criminal Procedure. In part, this rule affords a criminal defendant who is unable to
obtain counsel the right to have counsel appointed to represent him at every stage of the
proceedings from initial appearance through appeal, unless the defendant waives this right.112 In
courts-martial, the right to counsel is implemented under Rule 506 of the Rules for Courts-
Martial (R.C.M.). Rule 506 provides that a defendant has the right to be represented at a general
or special court-martial by civilian counsel, if provided at no expense to the Government, and
either by military counsel detailed under Article 27 of the UCMJ113 or military counsel of the
103 Chandler v. Freytag, 348 U.S. 3, 10 (1954).
104 See, e.g., Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, 344 (1963); Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U.S. 458, 462, 463 (1938).
105 Walker v. Johnston, 312 U.S. 275 (1941).
106 Iowa v. Tovar, 541 U.S. 77 (2004).
107 Id.
108 Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806 (1975). However, “under some circumstances the trial judge may deny the
authority to exercise it, as when the defendant simply lacks the competence to make a knowing or intelligent waiver of
counsel or when his self-representation is so disruptive of orderly procedures that the judge may curtail it.” UNITED
STATES CONSTITUTION: ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION (Constitution Annotated), http://crs.gov/products/conan/
Amendment06/topic_8_1_7.html. See Indiana v. Edwards, 128 S. Ct. 2379 (2008). The right to self-representation
applies only in preparation for trial and at trial. The Constitution does not guarantee a right to self-representation on
direct appeal from a criminal conviction. Martinez v. Court of App. of Cal., Fourth App. Dist., 528 U.S. 152, 160
(2000); cf., Abney v. United States, 431 U.S. 651, 656 (1977) (finding that the right to appeal, as we now know it, in
criminal cases arises from statutory rather than constitutional authority. The Martinez Court found that it necessarily
followed from this that the Sixth Amendment did not provide a basis for self-representation on appeal. 528 U.S. at
160.).
109 McMann v. Richardson, 397 U.S. 759, 771 n.14 (1970); Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45, 71-72 (1932); Glasser v.
United States, 315 U.S. 60, 70 (1942).
110 Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984).
111 United States v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648, 658 (1984).
112 FED. R. CRIM. P. 44(a).
113 10 U.S.C. § 827.
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defendant’s own selection. As in a civilian court, the defendant may also waive the right to be
represented by counsel and may conduct the defense personally.114
A detainee subject to a military commission has the right to represented by counsel.115 The right is
implemented by Rule 506 of the Rules for Military Commissions (R.M.C.). Rule 506 provides a
detainee with a detailed defense counsel. The detainee also has the right to be represented by
civilian counsel, if retained at no cost to the Government. Civilian counsel must fulfill certain
qualifications, including being a U.S. citizen and having security clearance of Secret or higher.116
Much like under the Rules for Courts-Martial, a defendant in a military commission proceeding
may waive his right to counsel and may conduct the defense personally.117 However, in a
departure from the rules governing courts-martial, the detainee initially did not have the right to
be granted specific individual military counsel upon request. Pursuant to modifications to military
commission procedures made by the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2010, the
accused would now be able to select a military defense counsel of his choosing, if counsel is
reasonably available.118
Right Against Use of Coerced Confessions
One issue that could arise in the prosecution of certain detainees involves the admissibility of
statements obtained during interrogation by U.S. or foreign military and intelligence agencies.
Some detainees currently held at Guantanamo were subjected to interrogation techniques that, if
performed in the United States, would almost certainly be deemed unconstitutionally harsh.119
The use of any such evidence in the criminal trial of a detainee would likely be subject to legal
challenge under the Fifth Amendment on the ground that the statement was gained through undue
coercion. As a general rule, statements made in response to coercive interrogation methods are
inadmissible in U.S. courts. Fifth Amendment protections concerning the right against self-
incrimination and due process serve as dual bases for exclusion of such evidence.120
114 R.C.M. 506(d).
115 10 U.S.C. §§ 949a, 949c (as amended by P.L. 111-84, § 1802 (2009)).
116 R.M.C. 502(d).
117 R.M.C. 506(c).
118 10 U.S.C. § 949c (as amended by P.L. 111-84, § 1802 (2009)).
119 See, e.g., U.S. Congress, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Current and Projected National Security Threats,
(testimony by CIA Director Michael Hayden, discussing the use of waterboarding upon three detainees currently held
at Guantanamo), 110th Cong., February 5, 2008; Bob Woodward, “Detainee Tortured, Says U.S. Official,” Washington
Post, January 14, 2009, at p. A1 (quoting Susan J. Crawford, convening authority of military commissions, as stating
that case of a Guantanamo detainee was not referred for prosecution because “[h]is treatment met the legal definition of
torture”).
120 U.S. Const. amend. V (“No person ... shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be
deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”); U.S. Const. amend. XIV (“nor shall any state
deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”). See also Malloy v. Hogan, 378 U.S. 1, 7
(1964) (incorporating the Fifth Amendment self-incrimination clause to the states). Throughout the nineteenth century,
courts excluded coerced statements under a common-law rule, which arose from a judicial concern that such statements
were unreliable evidence. In Bram v. United States, the Supreme Court first introduced the self-incrimination clause
rationale for excluding such statements. 168 U.S. 532, 542 (1887). Other twentieth century cases articulated a due-
process rationale to exclude coerced statements. See, e.g., Brown v. Mississippi, 297 U.S. 278, 285-87 (1936) (holding
that statements obtained by torturing an accused must be excluded under the Fourteenth Amendment due process
clause, which forbids states to offend “fundamental principles of liberty and justice”). In Miranda v. Arizona, the Court
affirmed the prominence of the Baum self-incrimination rationale for excluding coerced statements. 384 U.S. 436, 444-
45 (1966). The Court has reiterated the due-process rationale in more recent cases. See, e.g., Dickerson v. United States,
(continued...)
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Under the leading Supreme Court case, Miranda v. Arizona, courts will not admit defendants’
statements at trial unless law enforcement officers issued the well-known Miranda warnings,
which typically begin with “You have the right to remain silent,” before the statements were
made.121 As a general rule, Miranda applies any time police question a defendant who is in
“custody,” broadly defined.122 In the context of terrorist suspects’ statements, at least one court
has held that Miranda applies in Article III courts even if the questioning took place outside of
the United States.123
However, the Court’s recent jurisprudence has weakened Miranda’s effect by making clear that
despite the holding’s constitutional status,124 there are cases in which it is appropriate to depart
from strict adherence to Miranda warnings.125 The Miranda exception possibly relevant to the
Guantanamo detainees is the “public safety” exception, which the Court introduced in New York
v. Quarles.126 In Quarles, police officers inquired “Where is the gun?” to a suspect who had fled
into a supermarket after a shooting.127 The Court held that the suspect’s incriminating response,
“The gun is over there,” was admissible in court, despite a lack of Miranda warnings, because the
question had been necessary to secure the public’s safety in that moment.128 Despite the Court’s
emphasis in Quarles on the time-sensitive nature of the safety risk in that case,129 some
commentators have argued that the Quarles “public safety” exception should be extended to
reach interrogations of captured terrorist suspects.130
A second Miranda exception possibly applicable to some detainees is an exception for statements
made in response to questioning by foreign officials. In United States v. Yosef, the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Second Circuit held that “statements taken by foreign police in the absence of
(...continued)
530 U.S. 428, 434 (2000) (“We have never abandoned [the] due process jurisprudence”). For information on more
cases interpreting the Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination, see CRS Report 97-645, Repealing Miranda?:
Background of the Controversy over Pretrial Interrogation and Self-Incrimination, by Paul Starett Wallace Jr.
121 384 U.S. 436, 479 (1966).
122 Id. at 444. (defining questioning during “custodial interrogation” as “questioning initiated by law enforcement
officers after a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant
way”).
123 United States v. Bin Laden, 132 F.Supp.2d 168, 173-79 (S.D.N.Y. 2001) (in a case involving a non-citizen
defendant who had been detained and interrogated in Kenya, holding that as a general rule, Miranda applies when U.S.
law enforcement officials questioned the defendant outside of the United States). This outcome seems to comport with
the self-incrimination clause rationale, espoused by the Miranda court, for excluding coerced statements; if the concern
is compelled incrimination in a current legal proceeding, the location of the interrogation seems to be irrelevant under
the constitutional standard.
124 In Dickerson v. United States, the Supreme Court held that the Miranda warnings have the status of constitutional
interpretation; thus, Congress cannot eliminate the Miranda warnings requirement by statute. 530 U.S. 428, 434-435
(2000).
125 See, e.g., Michigan v. Tucker, 417 U.S. 433, 444 (1974) (declining to strictly enforce the Miranda warnings where
police conduct “did not deprive respondent of his privilege against compulsory self-incrimination as such, but rather
failed to make available to him the full measure of procedural safeguards associated with that right since Miranda”).
126 467 U.S. 649 (1984).
127 Id. at 655.
128 Id.
129 Id. at 657-58 (reasoning that requiring police to determine whether to take the time to give Miranda warnings “in a
matter of seconds” was impracticable under the circumstances).
130 See, e.g., Jeffrey S. Becker, “Legal War on Terrorism: Extending New York v. Quarles and the Departure from
Enemy Combatant Designations,” 53 DePaul L. Rev. 831, 869 (2003-2004).
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Miranda warnings are admissible if voluntary.”131 The Yosef court identified two situations in
which this exception does not apply: (1) situations where U.S. interrogators are working with
foreign interrogators as part of a “joint venture”; and (2) situations that “shock the judicial
conscience.”132
If the Quarles public safety exception, the foreign-interrogator exception, or another Miranda
exception applied to statements made during questioning of a Guantanamo detainee, prosecutors
would need to show only that the detainees’ statements were made “voluntarily” before a court
would admit them at trial.133 For example, in United States v. Abu Ali, a case involving a
defendant who had been arrested and questioned by the Saudi government for allegedly assisting
terrorists in an attack, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld statements made to
the Saudi interrogators, despite a lack of Miranda warnings, because the court found that the
statements were voluntary.134
The constitutional standard of “voluntariness” is recognized as “the ultimate safeguard against
coerced confessions.”135 The definition for “voluntary” in this context matches the definition
employed in other due-process cases; specifically, the test for voluntariness is “whether the
confession was ‘extracted by any sort of threats or violence, [or] obtained by any direct or
implied promises, however slight, [or] by the exertion of any improper influence.’”136 The
voluntariness test is a totality-of-the-circumstances inquiry, in which courts examine factors such
as “the youth of the accused, his lack of education, or his low intelligence, the lack of any advice
to the accused of his constitutional rights, the length of detention, the repeated and prolonged
nature of the questioning, and the use of physical punishment such as the deprivation of food or
sleep.”137 The failure to provide Miranda warnings can serve as one factor in the totality-of-
circumstances evaluation.138
Congress appears to have taken the position that Miranda warnings are not constitutionally
required to be given to enemy belligerents captured and detained outside the United States.
Pursuant to the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2010, Congress has generally barred
enemy belligerents in military custody outside the United States from being read Miranda
warnings, absent a court order. Specifically, it provides that
131 327 F.3d 56, 145 (2d Cir. 2003), cert. denied, 540 U.S. 933 (2003).
132 Id. at 145-46. The Fourth Circuit articulated slightly different exceptions to this general rule in Abu Ali, holding that
Miranda will apply to interrogations by foreign governments when the foreign interrogators are: “(1) engaged in a joint
venture with, or (2) acting as agents of, United States law enforcement officers.” Abu Ali, 528 F.3d at 227-28.
133 See Abu Ali, 528 F.3d at 232 (“When Miranda warnings are unnecessary, as in the case of an interrogation by
foreign officials, we assess the voluntariness of a defendant’s statements by asking whether the confession is ‘the
product of an essentially free and unconstrained choice by its maker.’”) (citing Culombe, 367 U.S. at 602).
134 528 F.3d 210, 234 (4th Cir. 2008) (“[W]e conclude that Abu Ali’s statements were voluntary. Abu Ali was
intelligent, articulate, and comfortable with the language and culture of the country in which he was detained and
questioned. The district court found, based upon copious record evidence, that he was not tortured, abused, threatened,
held in cruel conditions, or subjected to coercive interrogations. On the basis of the totality of these circumstances, we
conclude that Abu Ali’s statements were ‘the product of an essentially free and unconstrained choice.’” (citing
Culombe v. Connecticut, 367 U.S. 568, 602 (1961))).
135 See Dickerson, 530 U.S. at 434 (noting that although Miranda and its progeny “changed the focus” of the inquiry
regarding coerced statements, the Court “continue[s] to exclude confessions that were obtained involuntarily” in cases
in which Miranda does not apply).
136 Hutto v. Ross, 429 U.S. 28, 30 (1976) (citing Bram, 168 U.S. at 542-543).
137 Abu Ali, 528 F.3d at 232.
138 Id. at 233.
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Absent a court order requiring the reading of such statements, no member of the Armed
Forces and no official or employee of the Department of Defense or a component of the
intelligence community (other than the Department of Justice) may read to a foreign national
who is captured or detained outside the United States as an enemy belligerent and is in the
custody or under the effective control of the Department of Defense or otherwise under
detention in a Department of Defense facility the statement required by Miranda v. Arizona
… or otherwise inform such an individual of any rights that the individual may or may not
have to counsel or to remain silent consistent with Miranda v. Arizona.139
This provision is expressly made inapplicable to the Department of Justice,140 meaning that
agents of the DOJ could potentially read Miranda warnings to persons in military custody. One
instance where the DOJ might opt to read Miranda warnings to an enemy belligerent in military
custody would be when it intends to bring criminal charges against a detainee in federal civilian
court.
Under Article 31 of the UCMJ, individuals “subject to the code” who are brought before a court-
martial are protected from the use of statements obtained through the use of coercion, unlawful
influence, or unlawful inducement.141 Additionally, an individual may not be forced to incriminate
himself or to answer a question before any military tribunal that is not material to the issue and
may tend to degrade him.142 A suspect is also generally entitled to Miranda type warnings,
commonly referred to as 31 bravo rights, which require that a suspect be informed of the nature
of the accusation against him; be advised that he does not have to make a statement regarding the
offense; and be informed that any statement may be used as evidence in a trial by court-martial.
The protections of Article 31 are broader than Miranda warnings in that a suspect must receive
the warnings even if he is not in custody.143 While a strict reading of the UCMJ might support the
proposition that a captured insurgent suspected of engaging in unlawful hostilities could not be
questioned by military personnel about such activities without first receiving a warning and
possibly the opportunity to consult an attorney, developments in military case law cast that
conclusion in doubt.144 A review of Army regulations pertaining to the treatment of war-time
captives suggests that military authorities do not regard Article 31 as applicable to captured
belligerents suspected of violating the law of war, regardless of their prisoner-of-war status.145
Military courts have also recognized a “public safety” exception to Miranda requirements similar
139 P.L. 111-84, § 1040 (2009).
140 Id.
141 10 U.S.C. § 831(d). See also MIL. R. EVID. 305.
142 10 U.S.C. § 831(a),(c).
143 United States v. Baird, 271 U.S. App. D.C. 121 (D.C. Cir. 1988).
144 Not long after the passage of the UCMJ, the Court of Military Appeals (CMA) began to interpret Article 31(b) in
light of congressional intent, wherein it discerned the aim on Congress’s part to counteract the presumptively coercive
effect created whenever a service member is questioned by a superior. United States v. Franklin, 8 C.M.R. 513 (C.M.A.
1952). Subsequently, the CMA determined that “person subject to the code” was not meant to be read as broadly in
Article 31 as that phrase is used elsewhere in the UCMJ. See United States v. Gibson, 14 C.M.R. 164, 170 (C.M.A.
1954) (questioning of prisoner by fellow inmate who was cooperating with investigators did not require art. 31
warning). It has also been held that interrogation for counter- espionage purposes conducted by civilian agents of the
U.S. Navy did not require an Article 31 rights warning, in a case where the suspect was found not to be in military
custody at the time of the questioning. United States v. Lonetree, 35 M.J. 396 (C.M.A. 1992).
145 See Department of the Army, AR 190-8, Enemy Prisoners of War, Retained Personnel, Civilian Internees and Other
Detainees (1997), at para. 2-1(d). (permitting interrogation of detainees in combat zones and barring use of torture or
other coercion against them, but not requiring such persons to be informed of rights under Article 31).
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to the rule applied in federal courts.146 The relationship between UCMJ Article 31 and the
provision of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2010 limiting the reading of Miranda
rights is not immediately clear. A narrow reading of act’s limitation on Miranda warnings might
not encompass Article 31 warnings because they technically differ from the warnings required by
Miranda.
Persons subject to a military commission also have a statutory privilege against self-
incrimination, though this standard is less robust than that applicable in courts-martial
proceedings.147 Statements obtained by the use of torture are statutorily prohibited.148 Originally
under the MCA, military commissions were permitted to admit statements obtained in the course
of harsh interrogation not rising to the level of torture, if certain criteria were met. Statements
made on or after December 30, 2005, would not be admitted if the interrogation methods used to
obtain them amounted to “cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment” prohibited by the DTA.149 The
DTA’s prohibition applies to statements obtained through methods that, if they had occurred
within the United States, would be considered unconstitutionally harsh.150 The MCA’s
requirement did not apply with respect to the admission of statements made prior to December
30, 2005,151 meaning that statements elicited via “cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment” could
potentially have been introduced into evidence in military commission proceedings.
Pursuant to amendments made by the National Defense Authorization Act, all statements obtained
via torture or “cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment” are now inadmissible in military
commission proceedings, regardless of when such statements were made, except when presented
“against a person accused of torture or [cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment] as evidence that
the statement was made.”152 A detainee cannot be required to testify against himself.153 However,
self-incriminating statements made by the accused may be introduced into evidence during
military commission proceedings when specific criteria are met. In certain circumstances,
statements that were not made voluntarily may be deemed admissible. Specifically, the National
Defense Authorization Act provides that in order for a statement made by the accused to
admissible, the military commission judge must find that
(1) … the totality of the circumstances renders the statement reliable and possessing
sufficient probative value; and
(2) … (A) the statement was made incident to lawful conduct during military operations at
the point of capture or during closely related active combat engagement, and the interests of
146 See David A. Schleuter, Military Criminal Justice § 5-4(B) (5th ed. 1999).
147 10 U.S.C. § 948r(a) (2008).
148 10 U.S.C. § 948r(b) (2008).
149 10 U.S.C. § 948r(d) (2008).
150 For further discussion, see CRS Report RL33655, Interrogation of Detainees: Requirements of the Detainee
Treatment Act, by Michael John Garcia.
151 10 U.S.C. § 948r(c) (2008). In either case, however, when the degree of coercion used to obtain the statement was
disputed, the military judge could only permit its admission if the totality of circumstances rendered that statement
reliable and the interests of justice were served by its admission. 10 U.S.C. § 948r(c)-(d) (2008).
152 10 U.S.C. § 948r(a)(as amended by P.L. 111-84, § 1802 (2009)).
153 10 U.S.C. § 948r(b)(as amended by P.L. 111-84, § 1802 (2009)).
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justice would best be served by admission of the statement into evidence; or (B) the
statement was voluntarily given.154
The standards for admission of evidence in military commissions may be subject to legal
challenge, particularly by those defendants who seek to bar the admission of statements as
involuntary. Issues may also arise regarding the admissibility of any incriminating statements
made after a detainee has been subjected to harsh interrogation. In November 2008, a military
commission judge ruled that statements made by a detainee to U.S. authorities were tainted by his
earlier confession to Afghan police hours before, which had purportedly been made under threat
of death.155 The judge concluded that the coercive effects of the death threats producing the
detainee’s first confession had not dissipated by the time of the second. Subsequently, a federal
habeas court ruled that “every statement made by the detainee since his arrest [was] a product of
torture,” and could not be used by the government to support his detention.156 The detainee was
thereafter ordered released by the habeas court157 and subsequently transferred to Afghanistan.
Right Against Prosecution Under Ex Post Facto Laws
The ability to seek penal sanction against some detainees may be limited by ex post facto rules.
Art. I, § 9, cl. 3, of the U.S. Constitution provides, “No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law
shall be passed.” The Ex Post Facto Clause158 “protects liberty by preventing the government
from enacting statutes with ‘manifestly unjust and oppressive’ retroactive effects.”159 This
limitation may impede the ability of U.S. authorities to pursue criminal charges against some
detainees, or alternatively inform decisions as to whether to pursue criminal charges in a military
or civilian court, as offenses punishable under the jurisdiction of one forum may not be
cognizable under the laws of another. While laws having retroactive effect may potentially be
challenged on due process grounds,160 the Ex Post Facto Clause acts as an independent limitation
on congressional power, going “to the very root of Congress’s ability to act at all, irrespective of
154 10 U.S.C. § 948r(c)(as amended by P.L. 111-84, § 1802 (2009)). In determining the voluntariness of a statement, the
presiding judge must consider the totality of the circumstances, including, as appropriate, “(1) The details of the taking
of the statement, accounting for the circumstances of the conduct of military and intelligence operations during
hostilities[;] (2) The characteristics of the accused, such as military training, age, and education level[; and] (3) The
lapse of time, change of place, or change in identity of the questioners between the statement sought to be admitted and
any prior questioning of the accused.” 10 U.S.C. § 948r(d)(as amended by P.L. 111-84, § 1802 (2009)).
155 United States v. Jawad, D-021 (November 19, 2008). The government has appealed the commission’s ruling to the
Court of Military Commission Review.
156 Bacha v. Obama, 2009 WL 2149949 (D.D.C., July 17, 2009) (Huvelle, J.).
157 Bacha v. Obama, 2009 WL 2365846 (D.D.C., July 30, 2009) (Huvelle, J.).
158 U.S. Const., Art. I, § 10, cl. 1, prohibits the states from enacting ex post facto laws.
159 Stogner v. California, 539 U.S. 607, 612 (2003), citing Calder v. Bull, 3 U.S. 386, 390-91 (1798). In Calder, Justice
Chase described the Ex Post Facto Clause as four categories of laws:
[1.] Every law that makes an action done before the passing of the law, and which was innocent
when done, criminal; and punishes such action ... [2.] Every law that aggravates a crime, or makes
it greater than it was, when committed ... [3.] Every law that changes the punishment, and inflicts a
greater punishment, than the law annexed to the crime, when committed ... [and 4.] Every law that
alters the legal rules of evidence, and receives less, or different, testimony, than the law required at
the time of the commission of the offence, in order to convict the offender.
Calder, 3 U.S. at 390-391.
160 See Weaver v. Graham, 450 U.S. 24, 28 n. 10 (1981) (noting that in addition to giving protection to individuals, the
Ex Post Facto Clause “upholds the separation of powers by confining the legislature to penal decisions with prospective
effect and the judiciary and executive to applications of existing penal law”).
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time or place.”161 Accordingly, the Ex Post Facto Clause may be pertinent to the prosecution of
detainees regardless of whether they are brought to the United States or held for trial at
Guantanamo.
It appears that some detainees could be prosecuted for activities in federal civilian court without
running afoul of the Ex Post Facto Clause, including for offenses related to or preceding the 9/11
terrorist attacks. While the number of laws criminalizing terrorism-related activity expanded in
the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, some criminal statutes concerning terrorist activity and
having extraterritorial application were in effect in the years preceding, including laws relating to
acts of terrorism within the United States that transcend national boundaries; killing or causing
serious bodily injury to an American overseas for terrorist purposes; and money laundering in
support of certain terrorism-related activity.162 However, it may be more difficult to prosecute
some detainees on account of other types of terrorist activity or material support which occurred
abroad. In the early days of the conflict with the Taliban and Al Qaeda, many terrorism-related
statutes did not apply to wholly extraterritorial acts committed by foreign nationals which did not
injure U.S. persons. For instance, prior to 2004, federal criminal law generally did not extend to
non-citizens with no ties to the United States who provided material support to a terrorist
organization.163
Some persons could also be charged with offenses under the War Crimes Act, which imposes
criminal penalties for specified offenses under the law of war, including “grave breaches” of the
Geneva Conventions.164 It should be noted, however, that statute of limitations concerns may
affect the ability of U.S. authorities to prosecute persons for some of these offenses. While the
statute of limitations for most non-capital federal offenses is five years,165 the period for
terrorism-related offenses is typically eight years unless the offense raises a foreseeable risk of
death or serious bodily injury. If such a risk is foreseeable, then, like capital offenses,166 there is
no limitation to the time within which an indictment may be found.167
The constitutional prohibition against ex post facto laws may also have implications in courts-
martial or military commission proceedings, limiting the offenses with which detainees may be
charged.168 The UCMJ provides that general courts-martial have jurisdiction to “try any person
161 Downes v. Bidwell, 182 U.S. 244, 277 (1901). See also United States v. Hamdan, D012 and D050, slip op. at 2 (June
14, 2008) [hereinafter “Hamdan Military Commission Ruling”] (ruling by military commission citing Downes and
finding that the Ex Post Facto Clause applies to congressional actions directed at aliens at Guantanamo).
162 18 U.S.C. § 2332b (acts of terrorism within the United States that transcend national boundaries), § 2332 (killing or
severely injuring a U.S. national overseas), § 1956 (criminalizing money laundering activities by a foreign person when
a transaction at least partially occurs within the United States) (2000). For further discussion on the use of terrorism
statutes in criminal prosecutions, including with respect to activities taking place outside the United States, see Richard
B. Zabel and James J. Benjamin, Jr., In Pursuit of Justice: Prosecuting Terrorism Cases in Federal Courts, Human
Rights First, May 2008.
163 See 18 U.S.C. § 2339B (amended in 2004 to cover extraterritorial acts of material support by persons with no ties to
the United States who were thereafter brought to the United States).
164 18 U.S.C. § 2441.
165 18 U.S.C. § 3282.
16618 U.S.C. § 3281. For background, see CRS Report RL31253, Statutes of Limitation in Federal Criminal Cases: An
Overview, by Charles Doyle.
167 18 U.S.C. § 3286(b).
168 See United States v. Gorski, 47 M.J. 370 (1997) (ruling that the Ex Post Facto Clause applies to courts-martial
proceedings); Hamdan Military Commission Ruling, supra footnote 161 (finding that Ex Post Facto Clause applies to
military commission proceedings at Guantanamo).
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who by the law of war is subject to trial by a military tribunal and may adjudge any punishment
permitted by the law of war.”169 The UCMJ does not enumerate the offenses punishable under the
law of war, instead relying on the common law of war to define the subject-matter jurisdiction in
general courts-martial. In Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, a plurality of the Supreme Court recognized that
for an act to be triable under the common law of war the precedent for it being treated as an
offense must be “plain and unambiguous.”170 After examining the history of military commission
practice in the United States and internationally, the plurality further concluded that conspiracy to
violate the law of war was not in itself a crime under the common law of war or the UCMJ.171
Following the Hamdan ruling, Congress enacted the MCA, which authorized the establishment of
military commissions to try certain detainees and exempted the commissions from many UCMJ
requirements applicable to courts-martial proceedings. Although military commissions may
exercise personal jurisdiction over a more limited category of belligerents than courts-martial,172
the two forums share subject-matter jurisdiction over violations of the law of war. However, the
systems differ in that Congress also lists several specific offenses punishable by military
commissions, including, inter alia, murder of protected persons; murder in violation of the law of
war; attacking civilians, civilian objects, or protected property; denying quarter; terrorism;
providing material support for terrorism; and conspiracy to commit an offense punishable by
military commission.173 By statute, Congress has provided that such acts by an unprivileged
enemy belligerent are punishable by military commissions regardless of whether they were
“committed … before, on, or after September 11, 2001.”174 In enacting the MCA, Congress
asserted that it did “not establish new crimes that did not exist before its enactment,” but rather
codified “offenses that have traditionally been triable by military commissions.”175 Congress
retained this language when it amended the statutory guidelines for military commissions
pursuant to the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2010.
While many of the offenses listed in the MCA can be considered well-established offenses against
the law of war, a court might conclude that some of the listed crimes are new, and that a detainee
could not be prosecuted for such an offense on account of prior conduct. As previously
mentioned, a plurality of the Hamdan Court found that conspiracy to commit a violation of the
law of war is not itself a war crime.176 The crime of “murder in violation of the law of war,”
which punishes persons who, as unprivileged belligerents, commit hostile acts that result in the
169 10 U.S.C. § 818.
170 Hamdan, 548 U.S. at 602 (Stevens, J., plurality opinion).
171 Id. at 601-612 (Stevens, J., plurality opinion). Although the petitioner in Hamdan had been brought before a military
tribunal established by a 2001 presidential order rather than a court-martial, the Court held that UCMJ procedural
requirements were generally applicable to these tribunals. While a majority of the Court found that the military
commissions established by the President did not comply with these requirements, Justice Kennedy declined to join the
part of the opinion considering whether conspiracy was a cognizable offense under the law of war, finding the
discussion unnecessary in light of the Court’s determination that the military commissions did not conform to the
UCMJ.
172 Whereas military commissions may exercise personal jurisdiction over “unprivileged enemy belligerents,” general
courts-martial may potentially exercise jurisdiction over both privileged and unprivileged belligerents. See 10 U.S.C. §
818 (providing courts-martial jurisdiction over “any person who by the law of war is subject to trial by a military
tribunal”).
173 10 U.S.C. § 950t (as amended by P.L. 111-84, § 1802 (2009)).
174 10 U.S.C. § 948d.
175 10 U.S.C. § 950p.
176 Hamdan, 548 U.S. at 612 (Stevens, J., plurality opinion).
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death of any persons, including lawful combatants, in the context of an armed conflict, may also
be new.177 Similarly, there appears to be no precedent for defining “material support for
terrorism” as a war crime, though such conduct arguably could be analogized to other types of
conduct that have been punishable by military commissions in the past.178
Whether a reviewing court would deem some of the punishable offenses listed by the MCA as
constitutionally impermissible, at least when applied to activities occurring prior to the MCA’s
enactment, may turn on the degree of deference given to Congress in defining violations of the
law of war. The Constitution expressly grants Congress the power to “define and punish Offences
... against the Law of Nations.”179 While the Supreme Court has applied stringent criteria when
determining whether an act is punishable under the law of war in the absence of a congressional
declaration,180 the standard may be more lenient when Congress acts pursuant to its constitutional
authority to define war crime offenses.181 Accordingly, it is possible that a reviewing court may
defer to Congress’s finding the specified offenses under the MCA are not new offenses, and find
that prosecution of those offenses under military commissions (or possibly under the general
courts-martial system, if the court relies on the MCA to inform its judgment of activities
punishable under the common law of war) does not run afoul of the Ex Post Facto Clause. On the
177 Civilians (sometimes characterized as “unprivileged belligerents” or “unlawful combatants”) have been tried by
military tribunals for killing combatants in past wars, but the offense has been characterized as ordinary murder for
which combatant immunity is unavailable as a defense rather than a violation of the law of war. The International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has found that war crimes in the context of non-international
armed conflict include murder of civilians, but have implied that the killing of a combatant is not a war crime.
Prosecutor v. Kvocka et al., Case No. IT-98-30/1 (Trial Chamber), November 2, 2001, para. 124: (“An additional
requirement for Common Article 3 crimes under Article 3 of the Statute is that the violations must be committed
against persons ‘taking no active part in the hostilities.’”); Prosecutor v. Jelisic, Case No. IT-95-10 (Trial Chamber),
December 14, 1999, para. 34 (“Common Article 3 protects ‘[p]ersons taking no active part in the hostilities’ including
persons ‘placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause.’”); Prosecutor v. Blaskic, Case No.
IT-95-14 (Trial Chamber), March 3, 2000, para. 180 (“Civilians within the meaning of Article 3 are persons who are
not, or no longer, members of the armed forces. Civilian property covers any property that could not be legitimately
considered a military objective.”). For further discussion, see CRS Report RL33688, The Military Commissions Act of
2006: Analysis of Procedural Rules and Comparison with Previous DOD Rules and the Uniform Code of Military
Justice, by Jennifer K. Elsea.
178 Compare Hamdan Military Commission Ruling, supra footnote 161 (analogizing “material support for terrorism” to
guerilla activities subject to trial by military commission in the U.S. Civil War); with Ex Parte Milligan, 71 U.S. (4
Wall.) 2 (1866) (citizen of Indiana accused of conspiring to commit hostile acts against the Union during Civil War,
including conspiring to seize munitions stored in Union armory and liberating prisoners of war, was nevertheless a
civilian who was not amenable to military jurisdiction in area where civil courts were open). Many military
commissions that operated during the Civil War did not exercise jurisdiction solely over war crimes. Commissions
were also used to try persons for other criminal offenses in occupied territory or in locations under conditions of martial
law. The Obama Administration has expressed serious concern as to whether “material support for terrorism” has
traditionally been recognized as a war crime, and has recommended that any legislation modifying military
commissions not include “material support for terrorism” as an enumerated offense over which commissions have
subject-matter jurisdiction. U.S. Congress, Hearing before the Senate Committee on Armed Services, Military
Commissions, 111th Cong., 1st sess., July 7, 2009 (Submitted statement of David Kris, Assistant Attorney General)
(stating that the Obama Administration believes that “there is a significant risk that appellate courts will ultimately
conclude that material support for terrorism is not a traditional law of war offense”).
179 U.S. Const., Art. I, § 10, cl. 8.
180 Hamdan, 548 U.S. at 602 (Stevens, J., plurality opinion). See Quirin, 317 U.S. at 30 (“universal agreement and
practice” recognized offense as violation of the law of war).
181 See United States v. Bin Laden, 92 F. Supp. 2d 189, 220 (S.D.N.Y. 2000) (“provided that the acts in question are
recognized by at least some members of the international community as being offenses against the law of nations,
Congress arguably has the power to criminalize these acts pursuant to its power to define offenses against the law of
nations”); Hamdan Military Commission Ruling, supra footnote 161.
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other hand, a reviewing court might find that any deference owed to congressional determinations
is insufficient to permit the prosecution of some offenses to go forward.
Although federal courts have not yet had the opportunity to rule on ex post facto claims
concerning military commissions, the issue has arisen at the commission level. During military
commission proceedings in the case of United States v. Hamdan, the commission considered a
defense motion to dismiss charges of conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism on
the grounds that they violated the prohibition against ex post facto laws in the U.S. Constitution,
Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, and the law of nations. The Government opposed
the motion on the grounds that the Constitution did not protect aliens held outside the United
States, and that, even if the Constitution did apply, there was precedent for trial of these offenses
by military commissions as violations of the Law of Armed Conflict.182
After determining that the Ex Post Facto Clause extends to congressional statutes applicable to
Guantanamo, the commission turned to an examination of whether the MCA’s prohibitions
against conspiracy and material support for terrorism were ex post facto laws. The commission
examined countervailing arguments as to whether these two offenses were violations of the law of
war before enactment of the MCA and whether similar offenses had been tried by military
commission in the past. After exploring conflicting evidence with respect to each of these
crimes,183 the commission deferred to the Congress’s determination that these were not new
offenses, finding that there was “adequate historical basis for this determination.”184 In so doing,
the commission distinguished instances where the Congress has been silent from those where
Congress has enacted legislation, stating:
Absent Congressional action under the define and punish clause to identify offenses as
violations of the Law of War, the Supreme Court has looked for “clear and unequivocal”
evidence that an offense violates the common law of war ... or that there is “universal
agreement and practice” for the proposition. But where Congress has acted under its
Constitutional authority to define and punish offenses against the law of nations, a greater
level of deference to that determination is appropriate.185
The commission’s ruling in Hamdan was not appealed to the federal courts, and therefore it is
unclear whether a reviewing court would reach a similar conclusion regarding whether certain
offenses under the MCA raised ex post facto concerns.
In addition to the constitutional question explored by the military commission in Hamdan, ex post
facto concerns could potentially be raised in other situations. Statute of limitations concerns may
also arise in war crimes prosecutions under the UCMJ,186 though these limitations would not
182 Hamdan Military Commission Ruling, supra footnote 161, slip. op. at 1.
183 Id., slip op at 2-3 (conspiracy) and 3-5 (material support for terrorism).
184 Id., slip op. at 6 (quoting MCA language stating that it did “not establish new crimes ... [but was] declarative of
existing law”).
185 Id., slip. op. at 5. Hamdan was subsequently convicted by the commission on the material support charge and
acquited of the charge of conspiracy, and sentenced to 66 months with credit for serving all but five months. He was
subsequently transferred to his native country of Yemen in November 2008 to serve out the remainder of his sentence,
and his conviction was not reviewed by a federal court. See Department of Defense, “Detainee Treatment Announced,”
press release, November 25, 2008, available at http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=12372.
186 Article 43 of the UCMJ provides that the statute of limitations for most non-capital offenses that may be tried by
court-martial is five years. The extent to which this Article might preclude prosecution of war crimes by a general
courts-martial may be an issue in assessing the appropriate forum for the prosecution of detainees, as there does not
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apply with respect to prosecutions before military commissions. These considerations may inform
decisions by U.S. authorities as to whether to pursue criminal charges against detainees in civilian
court, under the general courts-martial system, or via the military commissions established by the
MCA. They may also be relevant in the crafting of any new legislative proposals concerning the
prosecution of detainees. If a statute increasing the penalty for an existing crime were to be given
retroactive effect, it would raise ex post facto concerns. Additionally, in the event that a statute of
limitations on a particular offense expired, a detainee would no longer face the possibility of
prosecution for that offense. If that statute of limitations were then extended and that extension
given retroactive effect, this would also be deemed an ex post facto law.187 A further ex post facto
issue could arise if the rules of evidence applicable at the time of prosecution for an offense set a
lower evidentiary bar for conviction than those applicable at the time of the commission of the
offense.188
(...continued)
appear to be a case which squarely addresses the Article’s application to war crimes prosecutions. Assuming that
Article 43 is applicable, the statute of limitations could potentially be suspended during “time of war” if the President
certifies that the limitation would be detrimental to the war effort or harmful to national security. Specifically, Article
43(e) provides that:
For an offense the trial of which in time of war is certified to the President by the Secretary [of
Defense] concerned to be detrimental to the prosecution of the war or inimical to the national
security, the period of limitation prescribed in this article is extended to six months after the
termination of hostilities as proclaimed by the President or by a joint resolution of Congress.
10 U.S.C. § 843(e). Military courts have previously interpreted the phrase “in time of war,” as used in Article 43 and
applied to U.S. servicemen, to be applicable to both declared wars and other military conflicts. See, e.g., United States
v. Castillo, 34 M.J. 1160 (1992) (Persian Gulf conflict was a “time of war” for purposes of UCMJ); United States v.
Anderson, 38 C.M.R. 389 (1968) (unauthorized absence during Vietnam conflict was “in time of war” for purposes of
Article 43 provision allowing suspension of statute of limitations); United States v. Taylor, 15 C.M.R. 232 (1954)
(Korean conflict was “in time of war” within meaning of UCMJ Article 43). In United States v. Averette, 41 C.M.R.
363 (1970), a UCMJ provision giving military courts jurisdiction over civilians accompanying armed forces “in time of
war” was interpreted as applying only to declared wars, so as to avoid constitutional issues that might be implicated by
the military trial of civilians. This provision was subsequently amended to give courts-martial jurisdiction over civilians
accompanying the military in “contingency operations” as well. Presuming that the UCMJ’s statute of limitations is
applicable to war crimes, it could be argued that the conflict with Al Qaeda and the Taliban, authorized by Congress
pursuant to the AUMF, is “a time of war,” and that the statute of limitations for the prosecution of war crimes
committed by enemy belligerents may be suspended under Article 43(e).
187 Stogner, 539 U.S. at 613-17.
188 Carmell v. Texas, 529 U.S. 513, 530-31, 552; 120 S. Ct. 1620; 146 L. Ed. 2d 577 (2000); cf., Stogner, 539 U.S. at
615-16 (dicta). In Carmell, the Supreme Court considered an amendment to a statute concerning certain sexual offenses
which authorized conviction for such offenses based on a victim’s testimony alone, in contrast to the earlier version of
the statute which required the victim’s testimony plus other corroborating evidence to permit conviction. The Court
held that application of the amendment to conduct that occurred before the amendment’s effective date violated the
constitutional prohibition against ex post facto laws. In Stogner, the Court found that the statute at issue was an ex post
facto law, because it inflicted punishment where the defendant, by law, was not liable to any punishment. However, the
Court noted in dicta, that
a statute of limitations reflects a legislative judgment that, after a certain time, no quantum of
evidence is sufficient to convict. See United States v. Marion, 404 U.S. 307, 322, 30 L. Ed. 2d 468,
92 S. Ct. 455 (1971). And that judgment typically rests, in large part, upon evidentiary concerns—
for example, concern that the passage of time has eroded memories or made witnesses or other
evidence unavailable. ... Consequently, to resurrect a prosecution after the relevant statute of
limitations has expired is to eliminate a currently existing conclusive presumption forbidding
prosecution, and thereby to permit conviction on a quantum of evidence where that quantum, at the
time the new law is enacted, would have been legally insufficient. And, in that sense, the new law
would “violate” previous evidence-related legal rules by authorizing the courts to “‘receiv[e]
evidence ... which the courts of justice would not [previously have] admit[ted]’” as sufficient proof
of a crime ... Nonetheless, given Justice Chase’s description of the second category, we need not
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Rules Against Hearsay Evidence
Hearsay is a prior out-of-court statement of a person, offered at trial either orally by another
person or in written form, in order to prove the truth of the matter asserted. In a trial before either
a civilian or military court, the admissibility of hearsay may raise both procedural and
constitutional issues. Civilian and military courts each have procedural rules limiting the
admission of hearsay evidence. Further, the Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause states that
the accused in any criminal prosecution retains the right to be “confronted with the witnesses
against him.”
As a practical matter, hearsay issues may arise in any prosecution of persons captured in the “war
on terror” for reasons peculiar to that context. For example, witnesses detained by foreign
governments may be unavailable to come to the United States to testify in a federal court,189 or
the government may be unwilling to make military and intelligence assets and personnel available
for testimony.190 Procedural rules and constitutional requirements may limit the use of hearsay
evidence in the prosecution of some detainees, though exceptions may permit the introduction of
certain types of hearsay evidence.
Evidentiary Issues
Federal civilian courts, courts-martial, and military commissions all possess procedural rules
governing the admission of hearsay evidence. Procedural rules applicable to federal courts under
the Federal Rules of Evidence (FED. R. EVID.) and courts-martial proceedings under the Military
Rules of Evidence (MIL. R. EVID.) impose largely similar restrictions on the usage of hearsay
evidence. Under the FED. R. EVID. and the MIL. R. EVID., hearsay is generally inadmissible
unless it qualifies under an exception to the hearsay rule.191 For the most part, these exceptions
require the hearsay evidence to be of a particular nature or context that gives them a greater
degree of reliability than other out-of court statements. Examples of exceptions to the hearsay
rule include “excited utterances” made in relation to a startling event, which were made while the
declarant was under the stress of excitement caused by the event; records of regularly-conducted
activity; and statements of a self-incriminating nature.192 The FED. R. EVID. and the MIL. R. EVID.
also recognize a residual exception for statements which have “equivalent circumstantial
guarantees of trustworthiness.”193 Examples of statements that have been held to qualify under the
(...continued)
explore the fourth category, or other categories, further.
Id. at 615-16.
189 E.g., Abu Ali, 528 F.3d at 239-240.
190 E.g., United States v. Moussaoui, 382 F.3d 453, 459 (4th Cir. 2004) (noting that the government informed the court
that it would not comply with the court’s deposition order in case involving person accused of involvement in terrorist
attacks of September 11, 2001).
191 FED. R. EVID. 802; MIL. R. EVID. 802.
192 FED. R. EVID. 801(D), 803; MIL. R. EVID. 801(d), 803 -804. Certain hearsay exceptions also require that the declarant
be unavailable to testify, for example, due to death or an asserted privilege.
193 FED. R. EVID. 807; MIL. R. EVID. 807.
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residual exception include interviews of child abuse victims by specially trained FBI agents194
and statements contained within the files of a foreign intelligence agency.195
One important aspect of the definition of hearsay is that statements made by co-conspirators in
furtherance of a conspiracy are not considered hearsay.196 For example, in prosecutions alleging
material support to terrorist organizations, evidence of statements by co-conspirators may be
introduced against a defendant at trial even if those statements would not have qualified under a
hearsay exception. Before these statements may be admitted, it is necessary to establish that the
conspiracy exists. The co-conspirators’ statements being offered may be considered when making
this initial determination, but are not sufficient standing alone to establish the existence of a
conspiracy.197
In comparison with the FED. R. EVID. or the MIL. R. EVID., the procedural rules for military
commissions under the Military Commission Rules of Evidence (MIL. COMM. R. EVID.) are much
more permissive regarding the admissibility of hearsay evidence. Initially, hearsay evidence could
be admitted in commission proceedings if either (1) it would be admitted under rules of evidence
applicable in trial by general courts-martial; or (2) more broadly, if the proponent of the evidence
makes known to the adverse party the intention to offer such evidence, and as well as the
particulars of the evidence.198 In the latter case, the accused would only have such evidence
excluded if he could demonstrate by a preponderance of evidence that the hearsay evidence was
unreliable under the totality of the circumstances.199
The rules for admissibility of hearsay evidence in military commission proceedings were
modified by the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2010. Under the new rule, hearsay
evidence that would not be admissible in general courts-martial proceedings may be admitted in a
trial by military commission if
(i) the proponent of the evidence makes known to the adverse party, sufficiently in advance
to provide the adverse party with a fair opportunity to meet the evidence, the proponent’s
intention to offer the evidence, and the particulars of the evidence (including information on
the circumstances under which the evidence was obtained); and
(ii) the military judge, after taking into account all of the circumstances surrounding the
taking of the statement, including the degree to which the statement is corroborated, the
indicia of reliability within the statement itself, and whether the will of the declarant was
overborne, determines that –
(I) the statement is offered as evidence of a material fact;
(II) the statement is probative on the point for which it is offered;
194 United States v. Rouse, 111 F.3d 561 (8th Cir. 1997).
195 United States v. Dumeisi, 424 F.3d 566 (7th Cir. 2005).
196 FED. R. EVID. 801(D)(2)(E); MIL. R. EVID. 801(d)(2)(E).
197 FED. R. EVID. 801(D)(2); MIL. R. EVID. 801(d)(2).
198 MIL. COMM. R. EVID. 802-803. The proponent of the evidence may satisfy the notification requirement by providing
written notice of the statement and its circumstances 30 days in advance of trial or hearing and by providing the
opposing party with any materials regarding the time, place, and conditions under which the statement was produced
that are in its possession.
199 Id. at 803(c).
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(III) direct testimony from the witness is not available as a practical matter, taking into
consideration the physical location of the witness, the unique circumstances of military
and intelligence operations during hostilities, and the adverse impacts on military or
intelligence operations that would likely result from the production of the witness; and
(IV) the general purposes of the rules of evidence and the interests of justice will best
be served by admission of the statement into evidence.200
Despite this modification, hearsay evidence that is inadmissible in federal civilian court or
military courts-martial proceedings might be admissible in a trial before a military commission.
As a result, prosecutors may have a broader ranger of inculpatory evidence at their disposal. On
the other hand, military commission rules permit a broader scope of hearsay for both parties. In
some cases, a defendant might be able to introduce more exculpatory evidence in a military
commission proceeding than in a federal court or court martial. Because prosecutors generally
choose the forum in which to prosecute a case, U.S. authorities may have the option of choosing
among the different hearsay rules to their advantage, depending upon the particular facts of a
case.
Constitutional Issues
The Constitution imposes its own limitations on the admission of hearsay evidence in criminal
cases. The protections afforded under the Confrontation Clause apply to both civilian and military
proceedings.201 While courts have yet to rule as to whether the Confrontation Clause’s protections
against hearsay extend to noncitizens brought before military commissions held at
Guantanamo,202 it would certainly appear to restrict the use of hearsay evidence in cases brought
against detainees transferred to the United States.
In Crawford v. Washington, the Supreme Court held that even where a hearsay exception may
apply under applicable forum rules, the Confrontation Clause prohibits the admission of hearsay
against a criminal defendant if the character of the statement is testimonial and the defendant has
not had a prior opportunity for cross-examination.203 Although the definition of testimonial
200 10 U.S.C. § 949a(b)(3) (as amended by P.L. 111-84, § 1802 (2009)).
201 See, e.g., United States v. Coulter, 62 M.J. 520 (2005) (applying Sixth Amendment hearsay restrictions to court-
martial proceedings, including requirements of Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004)).
202 In the case of In re Yamashita, 327 U.S. 1 (1946), the Supreme Court denied application of the writ of habeas
corpus to a Japanese general who had been tried and convicted before a military commission in the Philippines. Having
found that the Court lacked jurisdiction to review the proceedings, the Court declined to consider whether the
procedures employed by the commission, which permitted significant use of hearsay evidence, violated constitutional
requirements. While the Supreme Court has not definitively addressed the question of whether the Confrontation
Clause applies to noncitizens at Guantanamo, the reliance on hearsay evidence in administrative determinations as to
whether a detainee was an “enemy combatant” informed the Court’s ruling in Boumediene that detainees could seek
habeas review of the legality of their detention. 128 S.Ct. at 2268-2269. See also Hamdan, 548 U.S. at 638 n. 67
(Stevens, J., plurality opinion) (finding 2001 presidential order establishing military commissions violated statutory
requirements concerning commission procedures, and stating that “the Government suggests no circumstances in which
it would be ‘fair’ to convict the accused based on evidence he has not seen or heard.”) (citing cf. Crawford, 541 U.S. at
49).
203 Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004). This constitutional prohibition on certain types of hearsay only
prohibits the admission of statements to be used against the defendant. For example, in the Moussaoui case, involving
the prosecution of an individual for involvement in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Fourth Circuit applied Crawford and
prohibited the government from using statements in the substitutions for testimony from certain witnesses to show the
defendant’s guilt. Moussaoui, 382 F.3d at 481-482. Exculpatory statements in the deposition substitutions, which were
(continued...)
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statements has not been thoroughly explicated, lower courts have interpreted the proper inquiry to
be “whether a reasonable person in the declarant’s position would have expected his statements to
be used at trial.”204 In the traditional law enforcement context, the Court has expressly held that
statements taken by police officers in the course of either investigations of past criminal activity
or formal interrogation would qualify as testimonial under any reasonable definition of the
term.205 In contrast, the Supreme Court has held that statements made “to enable police assistance
to meet an ongoing emergency”206 were not testimonial, because, objectively determined, the
purpose of the statements was to request assistance and not to act “as a witness.”207
Many of the individuals detained at the naval base at Guantanamo Bay were apprehended on the
battlefield in Afghanistan or other locations, as a consequence of their alleged actions there.
Evidence against these potential defendants may include statements regarding their activities by
persons also engaged in that conflict and subsequently captured. Sixth Amendment concerns may
be raised if prosecutory authorities attempt to introduce statements made by other persons or
detainees without presenting those declarants to personally testify in court. In these situations, the
admissibility of the statements against the defendants would appear to turn on whether the
character of the statements made is testimonial or not.208
In light of the Supreme Court’s rulings in the domestic law enforcement context, it seems
reasonable to conclude that the statements of enemy combatant witnesses obtained during formal
interrogation by law enforcement would be considered testimonial. Similarly, incriminating
statements made to U.S. or foreign military personnel by enemy combatants on the battlefield
might also be considered testimonial. Insofar as these statements are determined to be testimonial,
the Sixth Amendment would not appear to permit their use against a defendant without an
opportunity for the defendant to cross-examine the declarant.
This constitutional requirement is not affected by less stringent rules regarding the admission, or
even the definition, of hearsay that may be used in different forums. While the reach of the
Confrontation Clause to noncitizens held at Guantanamo has not been definitively resolved, that
clause would clearly apply to military commissions held within the United States. Therefore,
although the evidentiary rules for federal civilian courts, general courts-martial, and military
commissions may permit different amounts of hearsay initially, prosecutors in each forum would
be subject to the requirements of the Confrontation Clause regarding testimonial hearsay against
the defendant, at least with respect to proceedings occurring within the United States. Lastly, non-
testimonial hearsay against the defendant, including statements which a reasonable person would
(...continued)
clearly testimonial, would have been admissible.
204 United States v. Udeozor, 515 F.3d 260 (4th Cir. 2008) (citing decisions by the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Seventh,
and Tenth Circuits).
205 See Davis v. Washington, 547 U.S. 813, 821, 830 (2006). The Supreme Court also recently held that affidavits from
forensic analysts are also testimonial. Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, 129 S.Ct. 2527, 557 U.S. ___ (2009)
(prosecution cannot prove that substance was cocaine using ex parte out-of-court affidavits). While this case dealt
solely with narcotics, the Confrontation Clause would likely impose a similar requirement upon affidavits describing
other types of chemical analysis, such as the identification of materials used for bombs or other explosive devices.
206 Id. at 822.
207 Id. at 827-828. The statements in this case were made during a 911 call describing a contemporaneous physical
assault.
208 The character of the questioning may be relevant but does not appear to be determinative. For example, open ended
questioning may still give rise to testimonial statements that would require confrontation. Davis, 547 U.S. at n.1.
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not expect to be used at trial, are unaffected by the Crawford decision, and even testimonial
hearsay may be admitted if the defense has had a prior opportunity to cross-examine the
declarant.
Right to a Speedy Trial
In early 2008, the DOD announced that approximately 80 detainees being held at Guantanamo
were expected to face trial before military commissions.209 In January 2010, it was reported that
the Obama Administration intends to bring charges against about 35 detainees in military or
civilian court.210 The Sixth Amendment guarantees a right to a speedy trial for the accused in all
criminal prosecutions.211 The protection is triggered “when a criminal prosecution has begun.”212
The invocation of the right may occur prior to indictment or formal charge, when “the actual
restraints imposed by arrest and holding” are made.213 The right has been found to extend to
civilian and military courts,214 though the nature of the right’s application to military courts may
differ from its application in the civilian context.215 Statutory requirements and forum rules may
also impose speedy trial requirements on applicable proceedings. Detainees transferred to the
United States may argue that they are constitutionally entitled to a speedy trial,216 and that denial
of this right compels a reviewing court to dismiss the charges against them.217
A reviewing court’s assessment of any speedy trial claim raised by a detainee is likely to balance
any prejudice suffered by the accused with the public’s interest in delaying prosecution. Courts
have employed a multi-factor balancing test to assess whether a defendant’s right to a speedy trial
209 Department of Defense, “Charges Referred on Detainee al Bahlul,” press release, February 26, 2008, available at
http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=11718.
210 Finn, supra footnote 16.
211 U.S. Const. amend. VI. The right applies to prosecutions in both federal and state courts, as the Supreme Court has
found the right to be one of the “fundamental” constitutional rights that the Fourteenth Amendment incorporated to the
states. Klopfer v. North Carolina, 386 U.S. 213, 226 (1967). Justifications for the right to a speedy trial include not
only a concern regarding lengthy incarceration but also societal interests in resolving crimes in a timely and effective
manner. See Barker v. Wingo, Warden 407 U.S. 514, 519 (1972) (“there is a societal interest in providing a speedy trial
which exists separate from, and at times in opposition to, the rights of the accused”).
212 United States v. Marion, 404 U.S. 307, 313 (1971).
213 Id. at 320.
214 See, e.g, United States v. Becker, 53 M.J. 229 (2000).
215 In his concurring opinion in the case of Reid v. Covert, in which the Supreme Court held that court-martial
jurisdiction could not be constitutionally applied to civilian dependents of members of the armed forces overseas during
peacetime, Justice Frankfurter wrote that:
Trial by court-martial is constitutionally permissible only for persons who can, on a fair appraisal,
be regarded as falling within the authority given to Congress under Article I to regulate the ‘land
and naval Forces,’ and who therefore are not protected by specific provisions of Article III and the
Fifth and Sixth Amendments. It is of course true that, at least regarding the right to a grand jury
indictment, the Fifth Amendment is not unmindful of the demands of military discipline. Within the
scope of appropriate construction, the phrase ‘except in cases arising in the land or naval Forces’
has been assumed also to modify the guaranties of speedy and public trial by jury.
354 U.S. 1, 42-43 (1957) (Frankfurter, J., concurring).
216 The Sixth Amendment provides that “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and
public trial.... ” The constitutional right to a speedy trial has been interpreted as generally applying to courts-martial
proceedings.
217 See Strunk, 412 U.S. at 438.
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has been violated, taking into account the length of the delay, the reason for the delay, the
defendant’s assertion of the right, and the prejudice to the defendant.218
Because the remedy for the government’s violation of the speedy trial right—dismissal—is
relatively severe, courts have often hesitated to find violations of the right. However, the Supreme
Court has indicated that extremely long delays violate a person’s Sixth Amendment right to a
speedy trial even in the absence of “affirmative proof of particularized prejudice.”219 It is possible
that a court could find that some Guantanamo detainees have been prejudiced in any future
prosecution by their long periods of detention, since “a defendant confined to jail prior to trial is
obviously disadvantaged by delay.”220 If so, a key question in cases involving Guantanamo
detainees might be whether the prejudice suffered by detainees outweighs the public’s interest in
delaying prosecution. However, it is possible that a court would find that non-citizen detainees
were not entitled to a speedy trial right prior to their transfer to the United States,221 which may
affect a reviewing court’s consideration of any speedy trial claims.
In addition to these constitutional requirements, statutes and forum rules may impose speedy trial
requirements of their own. The Federal Speedy Trial Act of 1974 delineates specific speedy trial
rules in the context of federal courts.222 As a general rule, the Speedy Trial Act requires that the
government bring an indictment against a person within 30 days of arrest, and that trial
commences within 70 days of indictment.223 However, the act provides several specific
exceptions, under which the determination regarding speed of prosecution becomes nearly as
much a balancing act as under the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the constitutional right.
Potentially relevant exceptions to the prosecution of detainees permit a trial judge to grant a so-
called “ends of justice” continuance if he or she determines that the continuance serves “ends of
justice” that outweigh the interests of the public and defendant in a speedy trial, and also permit
the granting of a continuance when the facts at issue are “unusual or complex.”224 Presumably,
many of the same factors that are important in considering constitutional issues relating to a right
218 See Barker, 407 U.S. at 530. Courts have recognized at least three types of prejudice, including “‘oppressive pretrial
incarceration,’ ‘anxiety and concern of the accused,’ and ‘the possibility that the [accused’s] defense will be impaired’
by dimming memories and loss of exculpatory evidence.” See Doggett v. United States, 505 U.S. 647, 654 (1992)
(citing Barker, 407 U.S. at 532; Smith v. Hooey, 393 U.S. 374, 377-379 (1969); United States v. Ewell, 383 U.S. 116,
120 (1966).
219 Doggett v. United States, 505 U.S. 647, 657 (1992) (holding that the government’s “egregious persistence in failing
to prosecute” the defendant for more than eight years after an initial indictment was “clearly sufficient” to constitute a
violation of the defendant’s speedy trial right, despite a lack of proof that the defendant was specifically harmed by the
delay).
220 Barker, 407 U.S. at 527.
221 See Verdugo-Urquidez v. United States, 494 U.S. 259, at 268, 270-71 (1990) (stating that “not every constitutional
provision applies to governmental activity even where the United States has sovereign power” and that “aliens receive
constitutional protections when they have come within the territory of the United States and developed substantial
connections with the country”), Balzac v. Porto Rico, 258 U.S. 298 (1922) (Sixth Amendment right to jury trial
inapplicable to Puerto Rico, an unincorporated U.S. territory).
222 18 U.S.C. § 3161. Congress passed the Speedy Trial Act shortly after the Supreme Court, in Baker v. Wingo,
rejected a specific, judicially imposed time period. 407 U.S. at 523. The Baker court held that such a specific timeframe
would invade the province of the legislature. Id. The Speedy Trial Act is just the primary statute implementing the
constitutional right for defendants in federal courts. If detainees were located in another country’s jurisdiction, then the
government would have to comply with both the Speedy Trial Act and the Interstate Agreement on Detainers. See 18
U.S.C. Appendix 2, § 2, Articles III-VI.
223 18 U.S.C. § 3161(b),(c).
224 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(8)(A).
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to a speedy trial are also relevant when interpreting the statutory requirements of the Speedy Trial
Act.225
In United States v. al-Arian, the United States charged four men with having provided material
support to terrorists, among other charges.226 The primary evidence in the case included more
than 250 taped telephone conversations, which the U.S. government had collected pursuant to the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.227 A federal district court granted co-defendants’ motion for
a continuance in the case over the objection of one defendant, al-Arian, who claimed that the
continuance violated his constitutional right to a speedy trial.228 The court determined that the
“ends of justice” would be served by granting the continuance because factors such as the
complexity of the case, the “voluminous” discovery involved, and the “novel questions of fact
and law” outweighed the defendant’s interest in a speedy trial.229 In addition, the al-Arian court
found that the defendant had failed to prove that he would suffer any specific prejudice as a result
of the continuance, because the period of the continuance would in any case be consumed with
discovery proceedings.230
There are no statutory or procedural rule requirements governing military commissions
concerning enemy combatant’s right to a speedy trial. While many UCMJ requirements apply to
military commission proceedings, those relating to the right to a speedy trial do not.231 Whatever
rights owed to the accused in this context are only those provided by the Sixth Amendment.
In contrast, statutory requirements and forum rules afford significant speedy trial rights to
individuals subject to courts-martial. Article 10 of the UCMJ requires the government, when a
person is placed in arrest or confinement prior to trial, to take immediate steps to inform of the
accusations and to try the case or dismiss the charges and release.232 The R.C.M. implements this
requirement in Rule 707(a) with a requirement that an individual be brought to trial within 120
days of the preferral of charges or the imposition of restraint, whichever date is earliest.233 Rule
707 provides for certain circumstances when time periods of delay are excluded from the 120 day
requirement, as well as allows the military judge or the convening authority to exclude other
periods of time.234
On their face, the statutory and procedural rules concerning speedy trial rights in courts-martial
proceedings may pose a significant obstacle for their usage in prosecuting persons held at
225 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(8)(B)(ii).
226 267 F. Supp.2d 1258, 1264 (M.D. Fla. 2003).
227 Id. at 1260.
228 Id. at 1267.
229 Id. at 1264.
230 Id. at 1264 n.16.
231 10 U.S.C. § 948b(d) (other provisions of the UCMJ specifically excluded include those related to compulsory self-
incrimination and the requirement for pretrial investigation). The National Defense Authorization Act for FY2010
retains this provision.
232 10 U.S.C. § 810.
233 R.C.M. 707(a) (Preferral occurs when an individual, with personal knowledge of or has investigated the matters set
forth in the charges and specifications, signs the charges and specifications under oath asserting that they are true in
fact to the best of that person’s knowledge and belief. See R.C.M. 307).
234 R.C.M. 707(c) (allowing for the exclusion of time when appellate courts have issued stays in the proceedings, the
accused is absent without authority, the accused is hospitalized due to incompetence, or is otherwise in custody of the
Attorney General).
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Guantanamo. While enemy combatants may be tried by a general court-martial for war crimes
under the UCMJ,235 statutory and procedural rules governing a defendant’s right to a speedy trial
may be implicated. Arguably, the speedy trial requirement may have started to run when the
enemy combatants were placed in confinement by the United States military.236 And while it is
possible to exclude time from the speedy trial requirement for those periods when the accused
was in the custody of civilian authorities or foreign countries,237 it may be difficult to argue that
the speedy trial period did not start when the U.S. military commenced detention of the person at
Guantanamo. The government is not precluded from preferring charges to a general court-martial
in this scenario, but the defense has the right to object to the trial on the basis of the speedy trial
requirement.238 Prosecution of detainees before a general courts-martial may require modification
of applicable statutes and forum rules relating to a defendant’s right to a speedy trial.
Finally, even if the government complied with time constraints imposed by applicable statutes
and forum rules and did not violate detainees’ constitutional rights to a speedy trial under the
Sixth Amendment, it is possible that a court could hold that the government violated a defendant’s
constitutional right to a fair trial under the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause by “caus[ing]
substantial prejudice to [the detainee’s] right to a fair trial,” typically by intentionally stalling
prosecution in a case.239
Right to Confront Secret Evidence
The Sixth Amendment requires that “[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the
right ... to be confronted with the witnesses against him.”240 However, in the context of
prosecuting persons seized in the “war on terror,” a public trial could risk disclosure of classified
information. In these cases, the government is arguably placed in a difficult position, forced to
choose between waiving prosecution and potentially causing damage to national security or
foreign relations. This dilemma was one factor leading to the enactment of the Classified
Information Procedures Act (CIPA), which formalized the procedures to be used by federal courts
when faced with the potential disclosure of classified information during criminal litigation.241
Courts-martial and military commissions also have procedures concerning a defendant’s right to
confront secret evidence.242 The rules governing the disclosure of classified information in
235 Id. at 201(f)(1)(B).
236 10 U.S.C. § 810.
237 See United States v. Cummings, 21 M.J. 987, 988 (N.M.C.M.R. 1986) (after being notified that the accused is
available for the immediate pickup from civilian custody, the Government has a reasonable time to arrange for
transportation of the accused before the speedy trial period begins to run), United States v. Reed, 2 M.J. 64, 67 (C.M.A.
1976) (holding “the military is not accountable for periods an accused is retained in civil confinement as a result of
civil offenses irrespective of whether his initial confinement was by civil or military authority”), United States v.
Stubbs, 3 M.J. 630, 636 (N.M.C.M.R. 1977) (confinement by the U.S. military pursuant to a Status of Forces
Agreement, in order to ensure the presence of the accused at a judicial proceeding in a foreign jurisdiction, is not
attributable to the Government).
238 R.C.M. 707(c)(2).
239 Marion, 404 U.S. at 324.
240 U.S. CONST. amend. VI (emphasis added).
241 P.L. 96-456, codified at 18 U.S.C. app. 3 § 1-16.
242 MIL. R. EVID. 505, MIL. COMM. R. EVID. 505. Following the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act
for FY2010, the Military Commission Rules of Evidence will likely be modified to reflect the new statutory
requirements for the usage of classified evidence in military commission proceedings.
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military commissions were amended by the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2010 to
more closely resemble the practices employed in federal civilian court under CIPA and in general
courts-martial.243
Prosecutions implicating classified information can be factually varied, but an important
distinction that may be made among them is from whom information is being kept. In some
situations, the defendant seeks to introduce classified information of which he is already aware
because he held a position of trust with the U.S. government. The interests of national security
require sequestration of that information from the general public.244 In the case of ordinary
terrorism prosecutions, the more typical situation is likely to be the introduction of classified
information as part of the prosecution’s case against the defendant. In these cases, preventing
disclosure to the defendant, as well as to the public, may be required. Preventing the accused
from having access to evidence to be used against him at trial raises concerns under the
Confrontation Clause of the Constitution. Both CIPA and the Federal Rules of Criminal
Procedure (FED. R. CRIM. P.) authorize federal courts to issue protective orders preventing
disclosure of classified information to various parties, including the defendant, in cases where
nondisclosure would not unduly prejudice the rights of the accused.245 The judge may permit the
prosecution to provide an unclassified summary or substitute statement so long as this procedure
provides the defendant with substantially the same ability to make his defense as disclosure of the
classified information itself would provide. Such a substitute submission might redact, for
example, sources and methods of intelligence gathering so long as enough information is made
available to give the defendant a fair opportunity to rebut the evidence or cast doubt on its
authenticity.
Legal issues related to withholding classified information from a defendant are likely to arise
during two distinct phases of criminal litigation. First, issues may arise during the discovery
phase when the defendant requests and is entitled to classified information in the possession of
the prosecution. Secondly, issues may arise during the trial phase, when classified information is
sought to be presented to the trier-of-fact as evidence of the defendant’s guilt. The issues
implicated during both of these phases are discussed below.
Withholding Classified Information During Discovery
The mechanics of discovery in federal criminal litigation are governed primarily by the FED. R.
CRIM. P. These rules provide the means by which defendants may request information and
evidence in the possession of the prosecution, in many cases prior to trial. There are two
important classes of information that the prosecution must provide, if requested by the defendant:
specifically Brady material and Jencks material.
Brady material, named after the seminal Supreme Court case Brady v. Maryland,246 refers to
information in the prosecution’s possession which is exculpatory, or tends to prove the innocence
of the defendant. For example, statements by witnesses that contradict or are inconsistent with the
243 10 U.S.C. §§ 949p-1 – 949p-1 (as added by P.L. 111-84, § 1802 (2009)).
244 This situation has traditionally been called “graymail” to suggest that the defendant may be seeking to introduce
classified information to force the prosecution to dismiss the charges. See S. REP. NO. 96-823 at 1-4.
245 18 U.S.C. app. 3 § 3; FED. R. CRIM. P. 16(d)(1).
246 Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963) (holding that due process requires prosecution to turn over exculpatory
evidence in its possession).
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prosecution’s theory of the case must be provided to the defense, even if the prosecution does not
intend to call those witnesses. Prosecutors are considered to have possession of information that
is in the control of agencies that are “closely aligned with the prosecution,”247 but, whether
information held exclusively by elements of the intelligence community could fall within this
category does not appear to have been addressed.248
Jencks material refers to written statements made by a prosecution witness that has testified or
may testify. For example, this would include a report made by a witness called against the
defendant. In the Supreme Court’s opinion in Jencks v. United States,249 the Court noted the high
impeachment value a witness’s prior statements can have, both to show inconsistency or
incompleteness of the in court testimony. Subsequently, this requirement was codified by the
Jencks Act.250
The operation of Jencks and Brady may differ significantly in the context of classified
information. Under § 4 of CIPA, which deals with disclosure of discoverable classified
information, the prosecution may request to submit either a redacted version or a substitute of the
classified information in order to prevent harm to national security.251 While the court may reject
the redacted version or substitute as an insufficient proxy for the original, this decision is made ex
parte without defense counsels’ input or knowledge. Classified information that is also Jencks or
Brady material is still subject to CIPA.252
In some cases, the issue may not be the disclosure of a document or statement, but whether to
grant the defendant pre-trial access to government witnesses. In United States v. Moussaoui, one
issue was the ability of the defendant to depose “enemy combatant” witnesses that were, at the
time the deposition was ordered, considered intelligence assets by the United States.253 Under the
FED. R. CRIM. P., a defendant may request a deposition in order to preserve testimony at trial.254
In Moussaoui, the court had determined that a deposition of the witnesses by the defendant was
warranted because the witnesses had information that could have been exculpatory or could have
247 United States v. Brooks, 966 F.2d 1500, 1503 (1992).
248 But see United States v.Libby, 429 F. Supp. 2d 1 (D.D.C. March 10, 2006) (holding that, on the facts of this case, the
CIA was closely aligned with special prosecutor for purposes of Brady).
249 Jencks v. United States, 353 U.S. 657 (1957) (holding that, in a criminal prosecution, the government may not
withhold documents relied upon by government witnesses, even where disclosure of those documents might damage
national security interests).
250 Codified at 18 U.S.C. § 3500. The Jencks Act provides definitions for so-called “Jencks material” and requires
disclosure of such material to the defense, but only after the witness has testified.
251 18 U.S.C. app. 3, § 4.
252 See United States v. O’Hara, 301 F.3d 563, 569 (7th Cir. 2002) (holding that in camera examination and redaction of
purported Brady material by trial court was proper).
253 United States v. Moussaoui, 382 F.3d 453 (4th Cir. 2004). Moussaoui was prosecuted for his involvement in the
conspiracy to commit the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. While the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth
Circuit held that CIPA did not apply to question of whether Moussaoui and his standby counsel would be allowed to
depose to enemy combatant witnesses, United States v. Moussaoui, 333 F.3d 509, 514-15 (4th Cir. 2003), both the
district court and the Fourth Circuit looked to CIPA for guidance when considering the question, see Moussaoui, supra,
382 F.3d at 471 n. 20 and accompanying text
254 FED. R. CRIM. P. 15(a). The court should permit the deposition if there are exceptional circumstances and it is in the
interest of justice.
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disqualified the defendant for the death penalty.255 However, the government refused to produce
the deponents citing national security concerns.256
In light of this refusal, the Fourth Circuit, noting the conflict between the government’s duty to
comply with the court’s discovery orders and the need to protect national security, considered
whether the defendant could be provided with an adequate substitute for the depositions. The
court also noted that substitutes would necessarily be different from depositions, and that these
differences should not automatically render the substitutes inadequate.257 Instead, the appropriate
standard was whether the substitutes put the defendant in substantially the same position he
would have been absent the government’s national security concerns.258 Here, the Fourth Circuit
seemed to indicate that government-produced summaries of the witnesses’s statements, with some
procedural modifications, could be adequate substitutes for depositions.259
Within the courts-martial framework, the use of and potential disclosure of classified information
is addressed in MIL. R. EVID. 505. The Rule applies at all stages of proceedings, including during
discovery.260 Under the Rule, the convening authority may (1) delete specified items of classified
information from documents made available to the accused; (2) substitute a portion or summary
of the information; (3) substitute a statement admitting relevant facts that the classified materials
would tend to prove; (4) provide the document subject to conditions that will guard against the
compromise of the information disclosed to the accused; or (5) withhold disclosure if actions
under (1) through (4) cannot be taken without causing identifiable damage to the national
security.261 Prior to arraignment, any party may move for a pretrial session to consider matters
related to classified information that may arise in connection with the trial.262 The military judge
is required, upon request of either party or sua sponte, to hold a pretrial session in order to
address issues related to classified information, as well as any other matters that may promote a
fair and expeditious trial.263
As amended by the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2010, disclosure of classified
information during a military commission is governed by 10 U.S.C. §§ 949p-1 – 949p-9. The act
provides that “[t]he judicial construction of the Classified Information Procedures Act … shall be
authoritative” in interpreting the statutory requirements governing the use of classified
information in military commission proceedings, “except to the extent that such construction is
inconsistent with the specific requirements” of these statutory provisions.264 Much like in courts-
martial, any party may move for a pretrial session to consider matters related to classified
information that may arise during the military commission proceeding.265 However, in a departure
from the rules governing courts-martial, the convening authority is replaced by the military judge
255 Moussaoui, 382 F.3d at 458, 473-475.
256 Id. at 459.
257 Id. at 477.
258 Id.
259 Id. at 479-483. The precise form of the deposition substitutes is unclear as significant portions of the Fourth
Circuit’s opinion dealing with the substitute were redacted.
260 MIL. R. EVID. 505(d).
261 Id.
262 MIL. R. EVID. 505(e).
263 Id.
264 10 U.S.C. § 949p-1(d) (as added by P.L. 111-84, § 1802 (2009)).
265 10 U.S.C. § 949p-2 (as added by P.L. 111-84, § 1802 (2009)).
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with respect to the modification or substitution of classified information. Pursuant to
modifications made by the National Defense Authorization Act, the military judge shall, upon
request by either party, “hold such conference ex parte to the extent necessary to protect classified
information from disclosure, in accordance with the practice of the Federal courts under the
Classified Information Procedures Act.”266 The military judge may not authorize discovery or
access to the classified information unless the judge finds that the information “would be
noncumulative, relevant, and helpful to a legally cognizable defense, rebuttal of the prosecution’s
case, or to sentencing, in accordance with standards generally applicable to discovery of or access
to classified information in Federal criminal cases.”267 The military judge, upon motion of the
government’s counsel, has the authority to modify and/or substitute classified evidence during
discovery, and ultimately may dismiss the charges or specifications if he feels that the fairness of
the proceeding will be compromised without disclosure of the classified evidence.268
The Use of Secret Evidence at Trial
The use of secret evidence at trial also implicates constitutional concerns. As described above,
there may be instances where disclosure of classified information to the defendant would be
damaging to the national security. In these instances, the prosecution may seek to present
evidence at trial in a manner that does not result in full disclosure to the defendant. One proposed
scenario might be the physical exclusion of the defendant from those portions of the trial, while
allowing the defendant’s counsel to remain present.269 However, such proceedings could be
viewed as unconstitutionally infringing upon the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to
confrontation.270
Historically, defendants have had the right to be present during the presentation of evidence
against them, and to participate in their defense.271 But other courts have approved of procedures
which do not go so far as to require the defendant’s physical presence. In United States v. Abu Ali,
the Fourth Circuit permitted video conferences to allow the defendant to observe, and be
observed by, witnesses that were being deposed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.272 The Fourth Circuit
stated that these procedures satisfied the Confrontation Clause if “the denial of ‘face-to-face
confrontation’ [was] ‘necessary to further an important public policy,’” and sufficient procedural
protections were in place to assure the reliability of the testimony.273 Here, the Fourth Circuit
cited the protection of national security as satisfying the “important public policy” requirement.
266 Id.
267 10 U.S.C. § 949p-4 (as added by P.L. 111-84, § 1802 (2009)).
268 10 U.S.C. § 949p-6 (as added by P.L. 111-84, § 1802 (2009)).
269 See Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, 344 F. Supp. 2d 152, 168 (D.D.C. 2004) (describing potential procedures under military
commissions established by Presidential order).
270 See Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, 548 U.S. 557, 634 (2006) (Stevens, J., plurality opinion) (stating that “an accused must,
absent disruptive conduct or consent, be present for his trial and must be privy to the evidence against him”).
271 See, e.g., id; Crawford, 541 U.S. at 49, 124 S.Ct. 1354, 158 L.Ed.2d 177 (2004) (“It is a rule of the common law,
founded on natural justice, that no man shall be prejudiced by evidence which he had not the liberty to cross examine”)
(internal citations omitted).
272 United States v. Abu Ali, 528 F.3d 210, 239-240 (4th Cir. 2008)(quoting Maryland v. Craig, 497 U.S. 836, 850
(1990)). In this case the defendant, while located in the Federal courthouse in Alexandria, Va., was able to
communicate with his counsel in Riyadh via telephone during breaks in the deposition or upon the request of defense
counsel.
273 Id. at 241-242 (citing Maryland v. Craig, 497 U.S. 836 (1990), in which one-way video testimony procedures were
used in a prosecution for alleged child abuse).
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The cited procedural safeguards were the presence of mutual observation, the fact that testimony
was given under oath in the Saudi criminal justice system, and the ability of defense counsel to
cross examine the witnesses.274
Arguments alleging that protective orders violate the Confrontation Clause because they do not
allow the participation of the defendant may also be undercut in the classified information context
because, in some cases, the excluded defendant is not believed to have knowledge of the
information being presented.275 Therefore, his ability to provide his counsel with rebuttal
information for cross examination purposes may be reduced. CIPA does not have any provisions
which authorize the exclusion of defendants from any portion of trial, based upon national
security considerations. But as noted earlier, CIPA § 3 authorizes the court to issue protective
orders preventing disclosure of classified information to the defendant by defense counsel.
Under CIPA, the admissibility of classified information at trial is determined at a pretrial hearing.
As with the case in discovery, the government may seek to replace classified information with
redacted versions or substitutions. However, in this context, the adequacy of a substitute or
redacted version is determined in an adversarial proceeding in which both prosecutors and
defense counsel have full access to the substitute and may argue whether it provides the
defendant with “substantially the same ability to make his defense” as the underlying classified
information would provide.276
In the courts-martial context, MIL. R. EVID. 505 governs the use of classified information during
trial. When classified material is relevant and necessary to an element of the offense or a legally
cognizable defense, the convening authority may obtain the information for use by the military
judge in determining how to proceed with the trial, or may dismiss the charges against the
accused rather than disclose the information in the interest of protecting the national security.277 If
the classified information is provided to the judge, an in camera proceeding may be ordered
allowing for an adversarial proceeding on the admissibility of the potential evidence.278
Additionally, the military judge has the authority to order a protective order to prevent the
disclosure of classified evidence that has been disclosed by the government to the accused.279 In a
case where classified information has not been provided to the military judge, and proceeding
with the case without the information would materially prejudice a substantial right of the
accused, the military judge shall dismiss the charges or specifications or both to which the
classified information relates.280
In trials before military commissions, the military judge shall permit, upon motion of the
government, the introduction of otherwise admissible evidence while protecting from disclosure
274 Id. See, also, United States v. Bell, 464 F.2d 667 (2nd Cir. 1972) (holding that exclusion of the public and the
defendant from proceedings in which testimony regarding a “hijacker profile” was presented was consistent with the
Confrontation Clause).
275 Arguably, if the defendant is already aware of the information, the need to prevent disclosure to him is lessened.
276 18 U.S.C. app. 3 § 6(c)(1). For a discussion of the “substantially the same” standard, see United States v. Collins,
603 F. Supp. 301, 304 (S.D. Fla. 1985).
277 MIL. R. EVID. 505(f).
278 MIL. R. EVID. 505(I).
279 MIL. R. EVID. 505(G).
280 MIL. R. EVID. 5050(F).
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the sources, methods, or activities by which the United States obtained the evidence.281 An in
camera hearing may be held to determine how classified information is to be handled, from
which the detainee may be excluded in order to maintain the classified nature of the material.282
In this scenario, the detainee will not have access to the information, but his defense counsel will
be able to argue the release of the information on behalf of the detainee.283 The detainee will have
access to all evidence that will be viewed by the commission members. 284
If constitutional standards required by the Sixth Amendment are applicable to military
commissions, commissions may be open to challenge for affording the accused an insufficient
opportunity to contest evidence. An issue may arise as to whether, where the military judge is
permitted to assess the reliability of evidence based on ex parte communication with the
prosecution, adversarial testing of the reliability of evidence before the panel members meets
constitutional requirements. If the military judge’s determination as to the reliability of ex parte
evidence is conclusive, precluding entirely the opportunity of the accused to contest its reliability,
the use of such evidence may serve as grounds to challenge the verdict.285 On the other hand, if
evidence resulting from classified intelligence sources and methods contains “‘particularized
guarantees of trustworthiness’ such that adversarial testing would be expected to add little, if
anything, to [its] reliability,” it may be admissible and survive challenge.286
Conclusion
Since its inception, the policy of detaining suspected belligerents at Guantanamo has been the
subject of controversy. In particular, there has been significant international and domestic
criticism of the treatment of detainees held there, as well as detainees’ limited access to federal
courts to challenge aspects of their detention. Defenders of the policy argue that Guantanamo
offers a safe and secure location away from the battlefield where suspected belligerents can be
detained, and prosecuted for war crimes when appropriate. They contend that enemy belligerents
should not receive the same access to federal courts as civilians within the United States.
The closure of the Guantanamo detention facility may raise complex legal issues, particularly if
detainees are transferred to the United States. The nature and scope of constitutional protections
owed to detainees within the United States may be different from the protections owed to those
held elsewhere. The transfer of detainees into the country may also have immigration
consequences.
281 10 U.S.C. § 949p-6(c) (as added by P.L. 111-84, § 1802 (2009)).
282 10 U.S.C. § 949p-6(a)(3) (as added by P.L. 111-84, § 1802 (2009)).
283 Id.
284 10 U.S.C. § 949p-1(b) (as added by P.L. 111-84, § 1802 (2009)).
285 Cf. Crane v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 683 (1986) (evidence concerning the manner in which a confession was obtained
should have been admitted as relevant to its reliability and credibility, despite court’s determination that the confession
was voluntary and need not be suppressed).
286 Cf. Ohio v. Roberts, 448 U.S. 56, 66 (1980) (admissibility of hearsay evidence), but cf. Crawford v. Washington,
541 U.S. 36 (2004) (“Admitting statements deemed reliable by a judge is fundamentally at odds with the right of
confrontation.... [The Confrontation Clause] commands ... that reliability be assessed in a particular manner: by testing
in the crucible of cross-examination.”).
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Criminal charges could also be brought against detainees in one of several forums—i.e., federal
civilian courts, the courts-martial system, or military commissions. The procedural protections
afforded to the accused in each of these forums may differ, along with the types of offenses for
which persons may be charged. This may affect the ability of U.S. authorities to pursue criminal
charges against some detainees. Whether the military commissions established to try detainees for
war crimes fulfill constitutional requirements concerning a defendant’s right to a fair trial is likely
to become a matter of debate, if not litigation. Legislative proposals have been introduced in the
111th Congress which address some of these issues. The ultimate effect of any measure will be
shaped by constitutional constraints.
The issues raised by the closure of the Guantanamo detention facility have broad implications.
Executive policies, legislative enactments, and judicial rulings concerning the rights and
privileges owed to enemy belligerents may have long-term consequences for U.S. detention
policy, both in the conflict with Al Qaeda and the Taliban and in future armed conflicts.
Author Contact Information
Michael John Garcia
Edward C. Liu
Legislative Attorney
Legislative Attorney
mgarcia@crs.loc.gov, 7-3873
eliu@crs.loc.gov, 7-9166
Elizabeth B. Bazan
Anna C. Henning
Legislative Attorney
Legislative Attorney
ebazan@crs.loc.gov, 7-7202
ahenning@crs.loc.gov, 7-4067
R. Chuck Mason
Legislative Attorney
rcmason@crs.loc.gov, 7-9294
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