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Detainees’ lawyers make new plea

Lawyers for Guantanamo Bay detainees have asked the D.C. Circuit Court to put its Feb. 20 ruling against them back on hold, while the Supreme Court reviews that case in the coming Term. In a motion filed Monday and cleared for public view on Tuesday, the attorneys urged the appeals court to recall the mandate in Boumediene v. Bush and Al Odah v. U.S. The motion also covered another detainee case, Paracha v. Bush, that is on its way to the Supreme Court from the D.C. Circuit.

The motion to recall the mandates can be found here It formally notifies the Circuit Court of the Supreme Court’s June 29 order granting review of the detainee appeals that the Justices had denied on April 2. It noted that the Supreme Court order was issued two days after the Circuit Court had issued its mandate.

Meanwhile, detainees’ counsel also have begun notifying District Court judges in Washington of the Justices’ decision to reopen the issue.

These latest moves are aimed at keeping intact existing protective orders that assure counsel access to their detainee clients, orders that prevent the government from transferring detainees out of Guantanamo Bay to foreign countries, and orders preserving evidence that detainees’ lawyers plan to use in their habeas challenges to detention..