2002
First detainees held at Guantánamo Bay
The military begins holding people captured in the conflict with al-Qaeda at the naval base in Cuba, outside the ordinary jurisdiction of federal courts.
Hamdan v. Rumsfeld 2006
Could the President try Guantánamo detainees by military commissions he established?
548 U.S. 557 (2006)War and national security
- The question
- Could the President try Guantánamo detainees by military commissions he established?
- What the Court held
- No. The commissions were not authorized by Congress and violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the Geneva Conventions.
- The vote
- 5–3. Chief Justice Roberts did not take part.
- Read the opinion
- 548 U.S. 557 (2006), full text
This page summarizes the Court’s judgment in neutral terms. The opinion, concurrences and dissents are the authority; read them for the reasoning.