Ghailani convicted on one conspiracy charge but acquitted on all other charges

* United States v. Ghailani (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 17, 2010)

Ahmed Ghailani has been acquitted on all charges except for one of the six conspiracy counts; it is not clear which count this was, though the Post suggests that it is not a murder conspiracy count. In any event, depending on which count this was, the maximum sentence could be anything from 10 years to life or even the death penalty. See here for a chart detailing the many charges and the max sentences. Please let me know if you have more detailed information about which precise charge was the count of conviction.

By Robert M. Chesney

Robert M. Chesney is Charles I. Francis Professor in Law at UT-Austin School of Law. Chesney is a national security law specialist, with a particular interest in problems associated with terrorism. Professor Chesney recently served in the Justice Department in connection with the Detainee Policy Task Force created by Executive Order 13493. He is a member of the Advisory Committee of the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Law and National Security, a senior editor for the Journal of National Security Law & Policy, an associate member of the Intelligence Science Board, a non-resident senior fellow of the Brookings Institution, a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a member of the American Law Institute. Professor Chesney has published extensively on topics ranging from detention and prosecution in the counterterrorism context to the states secrets privilege. He served previously as chair of the Section on National Security Law of the Association of American Law Schools and as editor of the National Security Law Report (published by the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Law and National Security). His upcoming projects include two books under contract with Oxford University Press, one concerning the evolution of detention law and policy and the other examining the judicial role in national security affairs.

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