FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CIV

THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2007 (202) 514-2007

WWW.USDOJ.GOV TDD (202) 514-1888

Department of Justice Files Motion to

Dismiss,
Reflecting Recent Court Decisions and
Legislation
WASHINGTON—Today the Department of Justice asked the U.S. District Court
for the District of Columbia to dismiss the Guantanamo Bay detainee habeas corpus
cases pending before it. This action is in accordance with both the decision by the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upholding the constitutionality of the
Military Commissions Act (MCA) and directing that such cases be dismissed for
lack of jurisdiction and the recent decision of the Supreme Court to deny certiorari
in those cases. The Court of Appeals decision reaffirmed the validity of the
framework that Congress established in the MCA permitting Guantanamo detainees
to bring suit in the D.C. Circuit. That decision and the Supreme Court’s denial of
certiorari make clear that the locus of litigation should now be the D.C. Circuit. All
detainees, regardless of the status of any district court habeas case that might have
been filed on their behalf, may file an action in the D.C. Circuit and avail
themselves of the judicial review afforded by Congress in the MCA. As detainees
choose to take advantage of this avenue of review, we will respond to such
challenges in the D.C. Circuit.

In recognition of the appropriateness of continued access to detainees by counsel for

purposes of the D.C. Circuit litigation, the request for dismissal of the habeas cases
does not mean that counsel visits with detainees will come to an end. The
Department of Defense will continue to permit previously scheduled counsel visits
to occur during a reasonable transition period, and the Department has already
proposed a protective order under which counsel visits are allowed as to claims filed
in the D.C. Circuit under the MCA. Moving forward, priority will be given to
counsel for detainees pursuing litigation in the Court of Appeals.

The judicial review afforded to Guantanamo detainees under the MCA and the
counsel access allowed by the Department of Defense is unprecedented in its
breadth. No other captured enemy combatants in the history of this country, or any
other, have enjoyed such privileges in wartime. The Department will continue to
give effect to the judicial review procedures established by Congress to permit
detainees to challenge their wartime detentions in the manner intended by Congress.

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