More on Hamdan

For those Con law enthusiasts out there, Salim Hamdan is up for trial again, this time based on the rules laid out in The Military Commissions Act, written by John McCain and Lindsey Graham with the help of Colonel Morris Davis. Col. Davis is the former chief prosecutor at Guantanamo who resigned as Chief Prosecutor because he felt the Pentagon was pressuring prosecutors to prosecute high profile detainees before the 2008 election to show the American people that the system is working. See the full Washington Post article here . Now Colonel Davis has said that he will testify for Hamdan to point out that these prosecutions have been “infected with political agendas and corrupted by the Achilles’ heel of military justice — unlawful command influence.”  What makes Col. Davis so interesting is that he believes most of the detainees at Guantanamo are guilty and should be punished, but he objects to the use of classified evidence that the detainee will never see and outside pressure.  Col. Davis’ has thoroughly defended Guantanamo in a NY Times editorial and has vigorously prosecuted many of the detainees at Guantanamo.

So why is he testifying for Hamdan? Because he believes that the Pentagon is exerting political pressure on the prosecutors at Guantanamo and is interfering with these detainees rights under the Military Commissions Act. It’s a shame that there aren’t more officers in the very highest ranks who view the Commissions like Col. Davis. While Davis’ belief that most of the detainees are guilty is not ideal, his insistence that the rules be followed and that these detainees receive all the rights–including an in-court presumption of innocence–they are guaranteed by the Military Commissions Act (and supposedly through that Act, their Geneva protections) is admirable. (Hat tip: WSJ Law Blog)

One more note for a little GW Law pride, Colonel Davis earned a Master of Laws in government procurement law from GW.