* In re Terrorist Bombings of the U.S. Embassies in East Africa (2d Cir. Jan. 26, 2011)
Hot on the heels of Ghailani’s sentencing, we have a Second Circuit summary opinion (Judges Feinberg, Newman, and Cabranes) affirming the conviction of co-conspirator Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-O’whali in connection with the same plot. O’whali had been convicted back in May of 2001, and his conviction was affirmed originally in 2008. Later, however, O’Whali moved for the case to be remanded to the district court for reconsideration of the voluntariness of certain statements he had made to the government, in light of new information. The case was sent back to the district court, which held a hearing but then concluded that reopening the original suppression hearing was not warranted. O’Whali appealed that determination, resulting in this week’s summary opinion affirming the district court’s decision (without further explanation other than to say the panel found the appellant’s arguments meritless).
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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