Full DC Circuit to Review Gitmo Detainee Case

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will rehear the case of a Guantanamo Bay detainee en banc. That is, all of the judges will hear the case rather than the usual three-judge panel.

Here is the opening paragraph of the earlier panel opinion:

Abdulsalam Ali Abdulrahman Al Hela filed a habeas petition challenging his detention at the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The district court denied the writ after a full hearing on the merits. On appeal, Al Hela claims that the President lacks authority to detain him for substantially supporting Al Qaeda and its associated forces; that he is entitled to release for violation of both “substantive” and “procedural” due process; and that the district court’s discovery procedures failed to provide him with a “meaningful opportunity” to challenge his detention under the Suspension Clause. We affirm the district court because the President has authority to detain Al Hela and the proceedings below complied with the requirements of the Suspension Clause. We reject Al Hela’s due process claims because the Due Process Clause may not be invoked by aliens without property or presence in the sovereign territory of the United States.

The case is Al-Hela v. Biden, No. 19-5079.