Event Summary
In the wake of the 9/11 attacks and the capture of hundreds of suspected al Qaeda and Taliban fighters, we have been engaged in a national debate as to the proper standards and procedures for detaining “enemy combatants” and prosecuting them for war crimes. Dissatisfaction with the procedures established at Guantanamo for detention decisions and trials of detainees for war crimes by military commissions, and concerns about the feasibility of conducting major terrorism trials in regular Article III courts, have led to proposals to establish a special National Security Court.
Judicial Issues Forum
Event Information
When
Friday, February 01, 2008
10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Where
Room 603
American University Washington College of Law
4801 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC
Map
Contact: Office of Special Events & Continuing Legal Education, American University Washington College of Law
E-mail: secle@wcl.american.edu
Phone: 202.274.4075
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This new court, which would have greater flexibility to conduct non-public proceedings than do the regular federal courts, could make or review status and detention decisions and/or conduct trials of suspected terrorists. The conference will discuss the pros and cons of establishing such a new federal court, and what jurisdiction should be assigned to such a court.
Participants
Welcoming Remarks
Claudio Grossman
Dean, American University Washington College of Law
Panel 1: War or Crime? The Legal Framework for Detaining and Prosecuting Enemy Combatants
Fellow and Research Director in Public Law, Governance Studies
Honorable Patricia Wald
Former Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Former Judge, International Criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
John B. Bellinger
Legal Adviser to the U.S. Department of State
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Governance Studies
Moderator
Kenneth Anderson
Professor, American University Washington College of Law
Lunch with Keynote Speaker
Honorable Leonie Brinkema
U.S. District Judge, E.D. Va (Judge in the Moussaoui case)
Panel 2: A National Security Court for Detention Decisions
Robert Chesney
Professor, Wake Forest Law School
David Cole
Professor, Georgetown University Law Center
Elisa Massimino
Director, Washington Office, Human Rights First
Matthew Waxman
Professor, Columbia Law School
Moderator
Daniel Marcus
Professor, American University Washington College of Law
Panel 3: A National Security Court for Terrorist Crimes
James Baker
Former Counsel for Intelligence Policy, U.S. Department of Justice
Andrew McCarthy
Director, Center for Law & Counterterrorism
Andrew Patel
private criminal defense lawyer who has represented a number of terrorist suspects, including Jose Padilla
Moderator
Stephen Vladeck
Professor, American University Washington College of Law