''Al Halmandy v. Bush'', No. 1:05-cv-02385, is a writ of

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...

filed on behalf of 63

Guantanamo detainee The Guantanamo Bay detention camp, also known as GTMO ( ), GITMO ( ), or simply Guantanamo Bay, is a United States military prison within Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NSGB), on the coast of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. It was established in 2002 by p ...

s, on December 13, 2005. It was one of over 200 habeas corpus petitions filed on behalf of detainees held in the

Guantanamo Bay detention camp The Guantanamo Bay detention camp, also known as GTMO ( ), GITMO ( ), or simply Guantanamo Bay, is a United States military prison within Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NSGB), on the coast of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. It was established in 2002 by p ...

in Cuba. The writ was filed shortly before the passage of the

Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 The Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 (DTA) is an Act of the United States Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 30, 2005. Offered as an amendment to a supplemental defense spending bill, it contains provisions ...

, which contained provisions to close off captives' ability to initiate new habeas petitions.

Seizure of privileged lawyer-client documents

On June 10, 2006, the

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

reported that three captives died in custody. The Department of Defense stated the three men

committed suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or acad ...

. Camp authorities called the deaths "an act of asymmetric warfare", and suspected plans had been coordinated by the captive's attorneys—so they seized all the captives' documents, including the captives' copies of their habeas documents. Since the habeas documents were privileged lawyer-client communication the Department of Justice was compelled to file documents about the document seizures. When the Department of Defense reported to the Justice Department the names of the captives whose privileged documents they seized, they were unable to name half of the captives in this petition.

Military Commissions Act

The

Military Commissions Act of 2006 The Military Commissions Act of 2006, also known as HR-6166, was an Act of Congress signed by President George W. Bush on October 17, 2006. The Act's stated purpose was "to authorize trial by military commission for violations of the law of ...

mandated that Guantanamo captives were no longer entitled to access the U.S. civil justice system, so all outstanding habeas corpus petitions were stayed.

''Boumediene v. Bush''

On June 12, 2008, the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

ruled, in ''

Boumediene v. Bush ''Boumediene v. Bush'', 553 U.S. 723 (2008), was a writ of ''habeas corpus'' petition made in a civilian court of the United States on behalf of Lakhdar Boumediene, a naturalized citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, held in military detention by t ...

'', that the Military Commissions Act could not remove the right for

Guantanamo captives The Guantanamo Bay detention camp, also known as GTMO ( ), GITMO ( ), or simply Guantanamo Bay, is a United States military prison within Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NSGB), on the coast of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. It was established in 2002 by p ...

to access the U.S. Federal Court system, and all previous Guantanamo captives' habeas petitions were eligible to be re-instated.. On July 18, 2008, Shayana D. Kadidal of the

Center for Constitutional Rights The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR; formerly Law Center for Constitutional Rights) is an American progressive non-profit legal advocacy organization based in New York City. It was founded in 1966 by lawyers William Kunstler, Arthur Kin ...

filed a status report on ''Al Halmandy v. Bush'' No. 05-CV-2385 (RMU) on behalf of seven Guantanamo captives Kadidal wrote that of the 63 captives initially listed in the petition, all but those seven had either been repatriated, or were named in other petitions. On July 29, 2008,

U.S. District Court Judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

Thomas F. Hogan ordered that all the other petitioners would be dismissed from the petition, except for: :

Known original petitioners dismissed from the petition

Muhammed Saad Iqbal Madni

On September 2, 2008, Muhammed Saad Iqbal Madni's lawyers were informed he had been repatriated to Pakistani custody. On September 5, 2008, the Department of Justice filed a motion to have his habeas petition dismissed as moot because he was no longer in U.S. custody. On September 19, 2008, Richard L. Cys, James P. Walsh filed ''"Petitioner Muhammed Saad Iqbal Madni's response to court order to show cause why his petition should not be dismissed as moot"''. Madni's lawyers argued his habeas petition should not be dismissed because he was entitled to continue to seek relief if his original detention was not legally justified. Further, his lawyer had not been advised of the conditions agreed upon by the U.S. Government and the Pakistani Government.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Al Halmandy V. Bush Guantanamo captives' habeas corpus petitions United States District Court for the District of Columbia cases 2007 in United States case law