Significant New D.C. Court of Appeals Rulings Today

The Washington Post is reporting on two unrelated cases that are of interest out of the D.C. Court of Appeals.

The first story involves a case dealing with the war on terror. The D.C. Court of Appeals ruled that the Bush Administration can try detainees using military tribunals.  The Court overturned the ruling by District Judge James Robertson who said the tribunals were illegal.  The Court of Appeals disagreed stating that the Geneva Convention does not apply to al-Qaida.  The case involves Salim Ahmed Hamdan, who is identified as Osama bin Laden's driver. The opinion, Hamdan vs. Rumsfeld

The second story involves the campaign finance law passed in 2002. Rules generated by the Federal Election Commission were overturned at the District Court level as opening loopholes that would essentially gut the law.  The Commission appealed, and, in a 2-1 decision, the D.C. Court of Appeals affirmed the ruling. The opinion, Shays vs. FEC

Mark Giangrande, DePaul Law Library