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The Cynical Successes Of The Guantánamo Bay Military Commissions, G. Alex Sinha

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

Since they were first authorized in the weeks after the 9/11 attacks, the Guantanamo Bay Military Commissions--special military tribunals for the trial of certain terror suspects--have generated eight minor convictions at a cost of over one billion dollars. Nearly half of the convictions have been vacated on appeal. The three ongoing contested cases, including the case against those accused of complicity in the 9/11 attacks, remain mired in pretrial proceedings. The biggest storylines emanating from the commissions do not concern convictions, but rather government surveillance of the defense teams and the compelled recusal of judges for the appearance of partiality …