Al-Marri case to be reheard
on Aug 22, 2007 at 5:21 pm
The Fourth Circuit Court on Wednesday agreed to reconsider the question of the President’s power to order the capture inside the U.S., and the prolonged detention afterward in a military prison, of a civilian suspected of terrorist ties. A majority of the Circuit Court’s judges voted to grant en banc review of Al-Marri v. Wright (Circuit docket 06-7427). The rehearing order can be found here.
The Bush Administration had sought en banc review of the June 11 decision by a three-judge Cicuit panel declaring that President Bush did not have the authority to order the military to seize and indefinitely detain a civilian who was legally in the U.S. and who was seized at his home in this country, so long as the individual had established ties to the U.S. The panel split 2-1 in the ruling. The case involves a Qatari national, Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri. In seeking review of the case by the full Circuit Court, the Administration had argued that the ruling posed “an immediate and potentially grave threat” to national security.
The Circuit Court did not disclose how its members had voted on the en banc question, saying only that a majority had voted when polled to reconsider the case. The order said a hearing will be held at the Fourth Circuit’s Oct. 31 session.
The Fourth Circuit decision that is now vacated was discussed in this post.
