One of the many things that people were concerned about as the detentions and military commissions at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, started to unfold was that they might spawn some really bad caselaw.
Depending on your point of view, this either has or has not happened, on such matters as whether the military commissions in which the Bush Administration breathed new life were valid, whether the writ of habeas corpus extended to Guantanamo Bay, and what rights detainees could actually invoke as nonresident aliens and unlawful combatants. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently decided yet another Guantanamo case, and this is one that may have consequences far beyond the detainees. Aamer v. Obama, No. 13-5223 (Feb. 11, 2014), shows how controversies involving the remaining detainees may resonate more broadly across the sweep of federal law.
