Us District Court

Dolly Gee Confirmed By Senate, First Chinese-American Woman To Be Federal Judge

latimes.com | Hector Becerra | Posted 12.26.2009 | Los Angeles


Ten years ago, Los Angeles attorney Dolly Gee was nominated by President Clinton to serve as a United States District Court judge. But Clinton's term ...

Judge Orders Release from Guantanamo of Unwilling Yemeni Recruit

Andy Worthington | Posted 12.18.2009 | Politics


Andy Worthington

The administration's reluctance to release Yemenis is based on the fear that detainees who were actually harmless in 2002 may have since actually been radicalized by their stay at Guantanamo.

Wild Horse Round Up Approved in Nevada By BLM

AP | SANDRA CHEREB | Posted 12.14.2009 | Denver


CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Bureau of Land Management approved the removal of 2,500 wild horses from the range near Reno on Monday as opposition gro...

AP Files Lawsuit Over Video Of Grenade Detonation At Wisconsin Prison

AP | SCOTT BAUER | Posted 10.26.2009 | Media


MADISON, Wis. ? The Associated Press filed a lawsuit Monday against the Wisconsin Department of Corrections seeking the release of a video that shows ...

Justice at Last? Guantanamo Uighurs Ask Supreme Court for Release Into U.S.

Andy Worthington | Posted 10.20.2009 | Politics


Andy Worthington

In briefs, the battle lines have been drawn. On the one hand is the government, endorsing Bush-era policies. And for the Uighurs, there is a Boston-based attorney and his team.

75 Guantanamo Prisoners Cleared for Release; 31 Could Leave Today

Andy Worthington | Posted 10.05.2009 | Politics


Andy Worthington

If the rationale for not releasing the Yemenis from Guantánamo was extended to the U.S. prison system, no prisoner would ever be released at the end of their sentence, because prison "might have radicalized" them.

No Escape From Guantanamo: The Latest Habeas Rulings

Andy Worthington | Posted 11.10.2009 | Politics


Andy Worthington

Rulings made by District Court judges in the habeas corpus appeals of prisoners held at Guantánamo seemed to confirm that the courts were uniquely placed to deliver justice to the prisoners.

James Von Brunn, Accused Holocaust Museum Shooter, Appears In Court

AP | JESSICA GRESKO | Posted 10.18.2009 | Politics


WASHINGTON — An 89-year-old white supremacist charged with killing a security guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum was ordered to remain ...

Durbin Recommends Former GOP Rival's Brother For Federal Bench

Crain's Chicago Business | Greg Hinz | Posted 09.07.2009 | Chicago


U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is recommending a most unusual name for a slot on the U. S. District Court bench in Chicago: the brother of the man he defeated ...

A Plea to Barack Obama from the Guantanamo Uighurs

Andy Worthington | Posted 09.06.2009 | Politics


Andy Worthington

Four months ago, 17 unjustly detained prisoners wrote a letter to Obama asking for their release. The government censors have only just cleared it and I have reprinted it here.

Guantanamo As Hotel California: You Can Check Out Any Time You Like, But You Can Never Leave

Andy Worthington | Posted 09.03.2009 | Politics


Andy Worthington

Prisoners who do not face ill-treatment on return to their homelands are still held, no matter how many times their release is approved by various representatives of the U.S. government.

As Judge Orders Release of Tortured Guantanamo Prisoner, Government Refuses to Concede Defeat

Andy Worthington | Posted 08.31.2009 | World


Andy Worthington

I still have no firm idea why Obama and Holder have allowed the Justice Department to pursue unjustifiable and unwinnable habeas cases, resulting in humiliation after humiliation.

Military Commissions: Government Flounders, As Admiral Hutson Nails Problems

Andy Worthington | Posted 08.08.2009 | Politics


Andy Worthington

A legal quagmire that lacks legitimacy and maintains key policies of the Bush administration's "War on Terror" is almost too awful to contemplate.

Never Forget: The International Day in Support of Victims of Torture

Andy Worthington | Posted 07.27.2009 | Politics


Andy Worthington

Sadly, our celebrity-obsessed world is unlikely to pay much attention to the International Day in Support of the Victims of Torture, as the death of Michael Jackson dominates headlines.

Judge Orders Release from Guantanamo of Al-Qaeda Torture Victim

Andy Worthington | Posted 07.25.2009 | World


Andy Worthington

In over three years of researching and reporting about the prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, I learned that many of the men were "Mickey Mouse" prisoners, with no connection to terrorism whatsoever.

Empty Evidence: The Stories of the Saudis Released From Guantanamo

Andy Worthington | Posted 07.18.2009 | Politics


Andy Worthington

Khalid Saad Mohammed seized from a hospital in Pakistan and sold to the U.S. military. But the authorities in GITMO had never managed to build up a credible case against him.

Who Are the Four Guantanamo Uighurs Sent to Bermuda?

Andy Worthington | Posted 07.12.2009 | Politics


Andy Worthington

The Uighurs should never have been held at all; the Pentagon was only interested in them because of the intelligence they might have provided about the activities of the Chinese government.

Free The Guantanamo Uighurs!

Andy Worthington | Posted 07.02.2009 | World


Andy Worthington

Obama needs to find the courage to resist the shrill opportunism of some of his least principled colleagues, and to order the Uighurs' release into the United States.

Guantanamo: A Prison Built On Lies

Andy Worthington | Posted 06.19.2009 | World


Andy Worthington

It is difficult to see how much of the "evidence" against the Gitmo prisoners can be anything other than a tissue of lies extracted through torture, coercion, bribery and exploitation.

Judge Gladys Kessler Releases Yemeni Detainee, Slams "Mosaic" Of Guantanamo Intelligence And Unreliable Witnesses

Andy Worthington | Posted 06.14.2009 | World


Andy Worthington

I am surprised that senior Obama officials seem to have been content to let a Bush-era approach to prosecution survive unchanged.

Obama's First 100 Days: A Start On Guantanamo, But Not Enough

Andy Worthington | Posted 06.04.2009 | World


Andy Worthington

Just Binyam Mohamed and the Yemeni doctor, Ayman Batarfi have been cleared for release. At this rate, of course, it will take decades to close Guantánamo.

Justice Extends To Bagram, Guantanamo's Dark Mirror

Andy Worthington | Posted 05.07.2009 | World


Andy Worthington

Whereas Gitmo prisoners had, over the years, secured habeas corpus rights, none of these privileges had been extended to the prisoners in Bagram.

Bad News, Good News For The Guantanamo Uighurs

Andy Worthington | Posted 03.22.2009 | World


Andy Worthington

First, the good news. Adel Abdul Hakim, one of five Uighurs (Muslims from China's oppressed Xinjiang province), who was released from Guantánamo in M...

How Cooking For The Taliban Gets You Life In Guantanamo

Andy Worthington | Posted 03.01.2009 | World


Andy Worthington

Those of us who prefer justice to arbitrary and unaccountable detention without charge or trial were delighted when, last week, Barack Obama fulfilled...

Fight Crime, Ban Symbols

Suzette Standring | Posted 11.24.2008 | Media


Suzette Standring

A patch, label or logo does not a murderer make. Let's not start down a road where in time the government gets into the business of controlling tee-shirt slogans.