David H. Remes

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David H. Remes (b. 1954) is an American lawyer.[1][2][3][4]

Remes is a partner at the law firm Covington & Burling.[3]

Remes has been recognized for his human rights work.[5][6]

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[edit] Volunteered to serve Guantanamo captives

Remes is notable for volunteering to serve as a pro bono attorney for some of the captives held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.[4][7]

Remes played a role in a challenge focussed around the captives' detention based on an avenue of appeal that the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 (DTA) opened.[4] The DTA closed the opportunity for captives who had not yet had writs of habeas corpus filed on their behalf. But the DTA allowed captives to challenge the determinations of their Combatant Status Review Tribunals, that they were properly classified as "enemy combatants". The DTA allowed captives to challenge the enemy combatant determination if the Tribunal failed to follow the rules laid out in their mandate.

One aspect of that challenge was a request that the court force the DoD to relase more information on the evidence used to justify the captive's detention.[4] Leading officials in the United States counter-terrorism establishment appealed a July 20, 2007 appeals court ruling forcing the release of information about the captives on national security grounds.

Remes responded:

“This is just a smoke screen to hide the fact that they can’t justify the detentions,”

Remes is one of the attorneys for Saifullah Paracha, a Pakistani businessman who lived in the USA for several years, who is suffering from serious heart disease.[4] Paracha has been appealing to get permission to travel temporarily to an American hospital for heart surgery. Camp authorities claim his heart surgery could be performed in Guantanamo's infirmary. They complained that $400,000 had been spent preparing the infirmary for his surgery. Paracha's lawyers have argued that previous procedures at Guantanamo have been botched.

[edit] Brought Guantanamo cases to Federal court under the Detainee Treatment Act

The Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 (DTA) closed off the right of Guantanamo captives to submit new petitions of habeas corpus. (Pending cases were left open.) The DTA opened a path for Guantanamo captives to submit a limited appeal to Federal Courts of appeal in Washington DC.[8] The Military Commission Act of 2006 (MCA) closed down the pending habeas corpus cases. Attorneys for the captives have both initiated a challenge to the constitutionality of the MCA's stripping of the right to habeas corpus; and they have initiated appeals in the DC Federal Courts of appeal.

The DTA's limited avenue of appeal only allows challenges as to whether the Combatant Status Review Tribunal correctly followed their rules.[8] Remes was one of the first lawyers to initiate an appeal in the DC courts.

[edit] Publications

[edit] References

  1. ^ David H. Remes. Covington & Burling. Retrieved on 2007-09-13.
  2. ^ Guantanamo Bay Bar Association. Seton Hall University School of Law. Retrieved on 2007-08-30.
  3. ^ a b William Glaberson. "Many Detainees At Guantanamo Rebuff Lawyers", Boston Globe, May 5, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-05-26. 
  4. ^ a b c d e William Glaberson. "Officials Cite Danger in Revealing Detainee Data", New York Times, Wednesday, September 12, 2007, p. A18. Retrieved on 2007-09-12. 
  5. ^ Covington Receives Human Rights Campaign's "National Ally of Justice" Award. Covington & Burling (July 24, 2006). Retrieved on 2007-09-12.
  6. ^ Human Rights Campaign to Honor Covington & Burling and David Remes with 2006 National Ally of Justice Award (July 21, 2006).
  7. ^ Charlie Savage. "Guantanamo detainees find fault with lawyers", August 10, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-09-13. 
  8. ^ a b Carol D. Leonnig. "Detainee Evidence Probe Weighed: Judge Told Guantanamo Information May Have Been Destroyed", Washington Post, Saturday, December 22, 2007, pp. Page A02. Retrieved on 2008-01-06.