Detainees Seek Fast Ruling From Justices

Detainees Seek Fast Ruling From Justices
By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer
6:57 PM PST, February 27, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Foreigners imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay want the Supreme
Court to rule quickly on their legal rights, before the justices go off on their
summer break.

Lawyers for two men detained nearly five years who face military trials as
early as this summer asked the court Tuesday to hear their cases on a rare
fast track. Their request was even more unusual because a federal appeals
court has yet to rule on whether one of them, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, can be
tried by a military tribunal or whether he even has the right to mount their
challenge in U.S. courts.

Hamdan is a Yemeni accused of supporting al-Qaida operatives. The Supreme
Court last year voided Bush administration plans to try Hamdan before a military
commission, but a new law restored those plans and stripped detainees of their
right to seek their freedom through the courts.

Other detainees plan to file their appeal with the court by Monday, also asking
for expedited review of the Military Commissions Act, which limits their ability
to challenge their confinement.

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