Ghailani and Military Detention, continued

I agree with Ben and Bobby that the disappointing Ghailani verdict does not imply that the prosecution should have been brought in a military commission. As they argue, most if not all of the challenges of Ghailani’s trial would have been replicated in a commission, and a verdict in a commission would have been harder to defend on appeal.  I also agree that it is wrong to view commissions as the muscular trial option and civilian trials as the weak trial option.  The truth, if anything, is the opposite.

Continue reading Jack Goldsmith at Lawfare…