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Al-Marri v. Pucciarelli - Amicus Briefs in Support of Cert.

Document Date: October 23, 2008

The unlawful military detention of civilians undermines the necessary combination of trust and distance between military personnel and civilians. The quality and character of the United States military would be undermined by a more extensive involvement in domestic law enforcement.- Retired Generals and Admirals

  • Brigadier General David M. Brahms served in the Marine Corps from 1963 through 1988, with a tour of duty in Vietnam. During the 1970s, he served as the principal legal advisor for POW matters at Headquarters Marine Corps, and in that capacity, he was directly involved in issues relating to the return of American POWs from Vietnam. General Brahms was the senior legal advisor for the Marine Corps from 1985 through 1988, when he retired. He is currently in private practice in California and was formerly a member of the Board of Directors of the Judge Advocates Association.
  • Rear Admiral Donald J. Guter was a line officer in the United States Navy from 1970 through 1974. After law school, he served in the Navy from 1977 until he retired in 2002. From June 2000 through June 2002, Admiral Guter was the Navy's Judge Advocate General. Admiral Guter was inside the Pentagon when it was attacked on September 11, 2001. Admiral Guter is now Dean of Duquesne University School of Law in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
  • Rear Admiral John D. Hutson was commissioned in the United States Navy in 1969. After law school, he served in the Navy from 1972 until he retired in 2000. From 1994 until 1996, Admiral Hutson served as the Commanding Officer, Naval Legal Service Office, Europe and Southwest Asia. Admiral Hutson served as the Navy's Judge Advocate General from 1997 until 2000. Admiral Hutson is now Dean and President of Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, New Hampshire.
  • Major General Antonio M. Taguba served in the United States Army from 1972 through 2007. He commanded infantry divisions in the United States, Korea and Germany. General Taguba served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army Reserve Command; Deputy Commanding General (South), First U.S. Army; and Deputy Commanding General for Support, Third United States Army, based in Kuwait. General Taguba led the initial investigation of the United States military prison system in Iraq.

This unprecedented expansion of executive authority within the borders of the United States is not only at odds with more than 200 years of history, but it is wholly unnecessary.- Former Federal Judges and Former Senior Justice Department Officials

  • Judge William G. Bassler served on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey from 1991 to 2006 and on the Superior Court for the State of New Jersey from 1988 to 1991.
  • Robert C. Bundy was United States Attorney for the District of Alaska from 1994 to 2001. He is currently of counsel to Dorsey & Whitney LLP in Anchorage.
  • Bates Butler, III was United States Attorney for the District of Arizona from 1980 to 1981 and First Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Arizona from 1977 to 1980.
  • Judge Edward N. Cahn served on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania from 1974 to 1998 and served as Chief Judge from 1993 to 1998.
  • W. Thomas Dillard was United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee in 1981 and the Northern District of Florida from 1983 through 1986. He currently is a partner at Ritchie, Dillard & Davies, P.C. in Knoxville.
  • Edward L. Dowd was United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri from 1993 to 1999 and the Deputy Special Counsel for the Waco Investigation under Special Counsel from 1999 to 2000. He is currently a partner at Dowd Bennett LLP in St. Louis.
  • Judge Shirley M. Hufstedler served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 1968 to 1979. Judge Hufstedler also served as an sociate Justice for the California Court of Appeal from 1966 to 1968, and as a judge on the Los Angeles County Superior Court from 1961 to 1966. She also served as United States Secretary of Education from 1979 to 1981.
  • Judge Nathaniel R. Jones served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit from 1979 to 2002 and as Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. He is currently a partner at Turner, Onderdonk, Kimbrough, Howell, & Bradley, P.A., in Alabama.
  • William A. Kimbrough was United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama from 1977 to 1981.
  • Philip Allen Lacovara was Deputy Solicitor General of the United States in charge of criminal and internal security cases before the Supreme Court from 1972 to 1973, and Counsel to the Special Prosecutor, Watergate Special Prosecution Force from 1973 to 1974. He is now senior counsel at Mayer Brown LLP in New York City.
  • Judge Thomas D. Lambros served on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio from 1967 to 1995 and served as Chief Judge from 1990 to 1995.
  • Judge Timothy K. Lewis served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit from 1992 to 1999 and on the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania from 1991 to 1992. He is a former Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania and Assistant District Attorney for Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
  • David L. Lillehaug was the United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota from 1994 to 1998. He is currently an officer and shareholder at Fredrikson & Byron, P.A. in Minneapolis.
  • Kenneth J. Mighell was United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas from 1977 to 1981 and Assistant United States Attorney for 16 years. He is currently of counsel to Cowies & Thompson in Dallas.
  • Judge Abner J. Mikva served on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1979 to 1995, and served as Chief Judge from 1991 to 1994. He served as White House Counsel for 1994 to 1995. He served Illinois as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1973 and from 1975 to 1979. He was an Illinois State Representative from 1956 to 1966. He was a visiting professor at the University of Chicago from 1996 until 2008.
  • Judge Stephen M. Orlofsky served on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey from 1995 to 2003 and was Magistrate Judge from 1976 to 1980.
  • H. James Pickerstein was Court Appointed United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut from 1973 to 1974 and Chief Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut from 1974 to 1986. He is currently a partner at Pepe & Hazard LLP in Connecticut.
  • Janet Reno served as Attorney General of the United States from 1993 to 2001. She was the State Attorney of the Eleventh Judicial District of Florida from 1978 to 1993.

Congress's unambiguous rejection of the administration's request for authority to indefinitely detain persons seized within the United States fatally undermines the Fourth Circuit's conclusion that such detention was somehow authorized.- Professors of Legislation

  • William N. Eskridge, Jr. is a professor of law at Yale Law School
  • Daniel A. Farber is a professor of law at Boalt Hall Law School
  • Eric Lane is a professor of law at Hofstra Law School

Just as there is a vital interest in protection against terrorist attacks, there is a vital national interest in preserving basic constitutional rights.- Professors of Federal Courts and Constitutional Law

  • Bruce Ackerman is a professor of law and political science at Yale University
  • Erwin Chemerinsky is a professor of law and the dean of the University of California, Irvine School of Law
  • Sarah H. Cleveland is a professor of human and constitutional rights and the faculty co-director of the Human Rights Institute at Columbia Law School
  • Caprice L. Roberts is a professor of law and the associate dean of faculty research and development at West Virginia University College of Law
  • Andrew Siegel is an associate professor of law at Seattle University School of Law
  • Stephen I. Vladeck is an associate professor of law at the American University Washington College of Law

More: The Constitution Project and Rutherford Institute

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