First Page
1151
Abstract
In June 2008, the Supreme Court extended the Suspension Clause to foreign detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Since then, courts have struggled to define appropriate standards to govern detainee habeas corpus petitions. Until recently, no court questioned the relevance of international law to the development of these standards. But, in January 2010, a D.C. Circuit panel held that international law does not constrain executive detention power. That decision could devastate detainee habeas corpus petitions by preventing courts from examining the heart of the government's own claimed detention authority.
This Note evaluates the proper role of international law during ongoing Guantanamo detainee habeas corpus litigation through an examination of the D.C. Circuit panel's legal analysis in Al-Bihani v. Obama. Because international law has always played a role in U.S. jurisprudence, judges already have the necessary tools to grapple with the international legal issues that the detainee cases present. In light of the Legislature's refusal to develop appropriate standards to govern these cases, the Judiciary must use these tools to balance national security with individual liberty.
Recommended Citation
Cara M. Walsh,
Al-Bihani, Not So Charming,
43 Vanderbilt Law Review
1151
(2021)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/vjtl/vol43/iss4/6