Denial of Guantanamo Bay Detainee's Habeas Petition Affirmed

Odah v. US, No. 09-5331, involved a petition for habeas corpus by a detainee at Guantanamo Bay and his next friend.  The court of appeals affirmed the denial of the petition, on the grounds that 1) petitioners' challenge to the preponderance of the evidence standard employed by the district court was foreclosed by precedent; 2) to show error in the district court's reliance on hearsay evidence, the habeas petitioner must establish not that it was hearsay, but that it was unreliable hearsay; and 3) the evidence was sufficient to show that petitioner was "part of' al Qaeda and Taliban forces.

As the court wrote:  "Fawzi Khalid Abdullah Fahad al Odah, a detainee at Guailtanamo Bay, Cuba, and his next friend appeal from the district court's denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Appellants contend that the preponderance of the evidence standard employed by the district court is unconstitutional. That argument is foreclosed by precedent. Appellants further contend that the district court erred in admitting hearsay evidence. Again, controlling precedent is against them. Lastly, they argue that the evidence is insufficient to show that al Odah was "part of' al Qaeda and Taliban forces.  We hold that the evidence is sufficient to support the district court's finding. Accordingly, we affirm the district court's
denial of al Odah's petition for a writ of habeas corpus."

Related Resources

• Full Text of Odah v. US, No. 09-5331