
DC appeals court grapples with the question of due process rights for Guantanamo detainees
CNN
The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit grappled on Thursday with the question of whether to issue a significant decision about the due process rights of Guantanamo detainees -- a case that has put the Biden administration on complicated footing as the President has looked for ways to finally close the US prison in Cuba.
The case was brought by a Yemini detainee who has been detained for nearly two decades without facing a formal charge or trial. He is arguing that the DC district court did not meet its due process obligations when considering his challenge to his detention.
On Thursday, the full appeals court was reviewing a panel appellate opinion that concluded that Guantanamo detainees have no right to due process. Some of the appellate judges signaled their reluctance to address that broad constitutional question, if a statutory or other narrower approach was available. But other judges said that the court could probably not escape in this case weighing in on constitutional rights of the detainee.