Jul 17, 2008 1:55 pm US/Pacific
Judge Green Lights Gitmo War Crime Trials
WASHINGTON (CBS News) ―
The first war crimes trial at Guantanamo Bay can begin Monday, a federal judge has ruled, saying civilian courts should let the military process play out as Congress intended.
U.S. District Judge James Robertson on Thursday rejected an effort by Osama bin Laden's former driver, Salim Hamdan, to postpone his trial. Hamdan argued he would suffer irreparable harm if his was tried before he could challenge the legality of the process.
Robertson's ruling is a victory for the Bush administration, which plans to use the military commission process to prosecute alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others charged in the 2001 attacks.
The Department of Justice celebrated the win for the administration, noting that Hamdan's trial before the commission would give him the most protection ever received by a defendant in such trials.
"We are pleased with the court's decision allowing Mr. Hamdan to be tried for war crimes before a military commission," DOJ Spokesman Erik Ablin told CBS News. "The government looks forward to presenting its case against Mr. Hamdan to the commission. We note that, under the procedures established by Congress in the Military Commissions Act, Mr. Hamdan will receive greater procedural protections than those ever before provided to defendants in military-commission trials."
"The good news for the government is that it finally gets to try a terror suspect," said CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen. "The bad news for the government is that any conviction that follows the trial can be overturned on appeal thanks to a series of rulings by the Supreme Court. The White House desperately wants to see at least one successful military trial before the end of the Bush Administration and this ruling all but assures that. Except that even if and when Hamdan is convicted the appeals process will take years to resolve."
The American Civil Liberties Union agreed.
"It is unfortunate that this trial will go forward," said Jameel Jaffer, director of the ACLU National Security Project. "As Judge Robertson noted, there are serious questions about the constitutionality of the rules under which Mr. Hamdan will be tried. It doesn't make sense to conduct a trial under rules that are likely to be found unconstitutional later on. Proceeding with this trial now will only draw out a legal process that has taken far too long already, and further discredit a system that has been a disgrace from the start."
The administration suffered a setback last month when the Supreme Court ruled the Guantanamo Bay detainees can challenge their detention in federal court. Hamdan's attorneys hoped to use that ruling to delay his trial. But Robertson refused.
"Hamdan is to face a military commission designed by Congress based on guidelines handed down by the Supreme Court," Robertson said.
He said Hamdan can raise any procedural challenges during trial and, if convicted, he can ask military and civilian appeals courts to settle constitutional questions.
Robertson's decision came shortly after a military judge at Guantanamo Bay also denied Hamdan's request for a postponement.
While Robertson stressed that his ruling only affects Hamdan, judges overseeing hundreds of other detainee cases have said they were watching to see how he would handle the case.
The Justice Department argued that prosecuting suspected terrorists is a key part of the war on terrorism, and a necessary step toward closing the Guantanamo Bay prison.
"Putting the military commission proceedings on hold now would be contrary to these interests and hamper the government's war efforts, not to mention constitute a significant intrusion into areas within the province of the executive branch," government attorneys said.
Hamdan's attorneys can appeal the ruling but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit would have to act quickly to keep the trial from going forward. His attorneys said they had yet to decide whether to appeal.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
