Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caDC-10-05048/USCOURTS-caDC-10-05048-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 530
Nature of Suit: Prisoner Petitions - Habeas Corpus
Cause of Action: 

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United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT

Argued November 9, 2010 Decided February 15, 2011

No. 10-5048

SAEED MOHAMMED SALEH HATIM, DETAINEE, CAMP DELTA,

ET AL.,

APPELLEES

v.

ROBERT M. GATES, SECRETARY, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF

DEFENSE, ET AL.,

APPELLANTS

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the District of Columbia

(No. 1:05-cv-01429)

Sharon Swingle, Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice,

argued the cause for appellants. With her on the briefs were Ian

Heath Gershengorn, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, and

Robert M. Loeb, Attorney.

Brian E. Foster argued the cause for appellees. With him

on the brief were S. William Livingston, Alan A. Pemberton, and

David H. Remes. Marc D. Falkoff entered an appearance.

Before: HENDERSON, Circuit Judge, and WILLIAMS and

RANDOLPH, Senior Circuit Judges.

USCA Case #10-5048 Document #1293249 Filed: 02/15/2011 Page 1 of 3
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Opinion for the Court filed PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM: Saeed Mohammed Saleh Hatim, a Yemeni

national, is a prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. The

district court granted Hatim’s petition for a writ of habeas

corpus in December 2009. Hatim v. Obama, 677 F. Supp. 2d 1

(D.D.C. 2009). After the district court entered its order, this

court issued decisions inconsistent with several of the district

court’s legal premises. We see no useful purpose in reciting the

evidence. The order granting the writ must be vacated and the

case remanded. The district court candidly acknowledged as

much when it issued a stay of its order pending this appeal. 

 The district court ruled that the military could detain only

individuals who were “part of” al-Qaida or the Taliban; and that

Hatim did not fit that description. That ruling is directly

contrary to Al-Bihani v. Obama, which held that “those who

purposefully and materially support” al-Qaida or the Taliban

could also be detained. 590 F.3d 866, 872 (D.C. Cir. 2010). 

Hatim admits the error, but says it was harmless. We cannot see

how. As the district court stated in issuing the stay, Al-Bihani

“calls into question” a “key determination[]” upon which the

order rested.

The district court also ruled that in order to detain Hatim the

government had to prove that he was part of the “command

structure” of al-Qaida or the Taliban. Our intervening decisions

in Bensayah v. Obama, 610 F.3d 718, 725 (D.C. Cir. 2010), and

Awad v. Obama, 608 F.3d 1, 11 (D.C. Cir. 2010), held that

although it is sufficient to show that an individual is in the

command structure, such a showing is not necessary in order to

defeat a habeas petition. 

In addition, the district court appeared to evaluate the

evidence on the basis of an approach we have since rejected in

USCA Case #10-5048 Document #1293249 Filed: 02/15/2011 Page 2 of 3
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Al-Adahi v. Obama, 613 F.3d 1102, 1105-06 (D.C. Cir. 2010),

cert. denied, 79 U.S.L.W. 3254 (U.S. 2011). See also Salahi v.

Obama, 625 F.3d 745, 753 (D.C. Cir. 2010). 

In light of these legal developments occurring after the

district court issued its order, the government and Hatim should

have the opportunity on remand to present additional evidence. 

Vacated and remanded.

USCA Case #10-5048 Document #1293249 Filed: 02/15/2011 Page 3 of 3