Detention Status Review Process in Transnational Armed Conflict: Al Maquleh v. Gates, and the Parwan Detention Facility

Authors

Jody M. Prescott

Abstract

This article will first set out a brief history and description of the airfield at Bagram and the detention facilities there. Second, it will explore the standards under international law and the implement ation of national regulations by which the detention status of individuals detained by U.S. military forces is determined, when such individuals may be released from detention, and the significance of the evolving concept of transnational armed conflict to these determinations. Third, it will review the U.S. Supreme Court‘s decision in Boumediene, explore the Court‘s analysis in reaching its decision, and identify what the Court found to be the most important factors in terms of applying its analysis to these types of detainee cases. The fourth part of the article will do the same for the D.C. District Court‘s decision in al Maqaleh, and will specifically note where the decision appears to misapply the Boumediene analysis and to find facts not in keeping with the actual situation of the Parwan Detention Facility. Fifth, this article will review the D.C. Circuit Court‘s formulation of the Boumediene analysis in the same fashion. Sixth, this article will describe the new status determination procedures in detail and explain why they are sufficient to obviate the need for the extension of the Suspension Clause to the Parwan Detention Facility. Finally, were the Suspension Clause deemed applicable to the Parwan Detention Facility, this article will explain why these procedures would be an adequate substitute for habeas corpus proceedings, and why they could serve as an adequate model for current and future U.S. military detention operations outside the U.S. in cases of transnational armed conflict between the U.S. and non-state actors.

Recommended Citation

Prescott, Jody M. (2010) "Detention Status Review Process in Transnational Armed Conflict: Al Maquleh v. Gates, and the Parwan Detention Facility," University of Massachusetts Law Review: Vol. 5: Iss. 1, Article 3.
Available at: https://scholarship.law.umassd.edu/umlr/vol5/iss1/3