IN RE: GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEE LITIGATION

Filing 1816

MOTION For An Expedited Ruling On Petitioner's Motion For Direct Contact With Client re (1241 in 1:09-cv-00745-RCL) MOTION For Direct Contact With Client by EDRESS LNU (Hart, Andy)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ____________________________________ ) IN RE: ) GUANTANAMO BAY ) DETAINEE LITIGATION ) ____________________________________) ) IDRIS AHMED ABDU QADIR IDRIS, ) ) Petitioner, ) v. ) BARACK OBAMA et al., ) ) Respondents. ) ____________________________________) Misc. No. 08-442 (TFH)

Civil Action No. 09-00745 (RCL)

MOTION FOR AN EXPEDITED RULING ON PETITIONER'S MOTION FOR DIRECT CONTACT WITH CLIENT On June 29, 2009, Petitioner Idris Ahmed Abdu Qadir Idris filed a Reply to the Government's Motion To Dismiss For Lack of Authorization as well as a Motion For Direct Contact With Client. On July 1, 2009, Respondent contacted counsel seeking an extension of their deadline, currently set at July 14, 2009, to respond to Petitioner's Motion For Direct Contact With Client.1 Given the logistical demands and expense of travel to the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Counsel seeks an expedited ruling from this Court on the Motion For Direct Contact with Petitioner. Counsel's office has received approval and made all necessary travel arrangements for attorney client meetings with several petitioners, including Mr. Idris, at Guantanamo Bay from Counsel has responded and agreed to the Government's separate request for an extension of the deadline for the Government's Response to Petitioner's Reply to the Government's Motion to Dismiss.
1

July 19-22, 2009. As set forth in previous pleadings by counsel for both Petitioner and Respondent, Counsel has not met with Mr. Idris on five prior visits to Guantanamo Bay. The Motion For Direct Contact is directed at facilitating those circumstances which have, in other motions before Judges of this Court, successfully resulted in attorneys meeting with their respective clients for the first time. The importance of this initial meeting, which arguably is the only method of accurately determining Mr. Idris' intentions with respect to this litigation, cannot be understated. An expedited schedule is reasonable to the parties in that the Motion For Direct Access presents the same narrow issues and requested relief which has been briefed, argued, and ruled upon in previous cases. Moreover, the resulting respective Orders have been successfully implemented by the DOD and counsel at Guantanamo Bay.2 To that end, Counsel would move that the Government's Reply to the Motion for Direct Access be due on or before July 10, 2009, in order to allow this Court adequate time for consideration and ruling on that motion. Alternatively, if this Court is does not modify the deadline for the Government's Reply to Petitioner's Motion For Direct Access, Counsel would respectfully seek a ruling from this Court on or before Friday, July 17, 2009, in order to allow such an Order, if granted, to be implemented during the July 19, 2009 visitation at Guantanamo Bay.

As cited in Petitioner's Motion For Direct Access, the same issue before this Court was ruled upon brought by Petitioner Jamil Ahmad Saeed (ISN 728) (Case No. 05-CV-2386, Docket Entry No. 1177, 05/01/2009 and Petitioner Hamoud Abdulah Hamoud Hassan Al-Wady, Case No. 08-CV-1237, Docket Entry No. 111, 05/01/2009. -2-

2

July 1, 2009

Respectfully submitted, /s/Andy Hart ANDY HART (LCvR 83.2(e)) Assistant Federal Public Defender Office of the Federal Public Defender, Northern District of Ohio 617 Adams Street Toledo, Ohio 43604 [phone] Fax: [phone] [e-mail] /s/Darin Thompson DARIN THOMPSON (LCvR 83.2(e)) Assistant Federal Public Defender Office of the Federal Public Defender, Northern District of Ohio 1660 West Second Street, Suite 750 Cleveland, Ohio 44113 [phone] Fax: [phone] [e-mail] /s/Jonathan Witmer-Rich JONATHAN WITMER-RICH (LCvR 83.2(e)) Attorney at Law Office of the Federal Public Defender, Northern District of Ohio 1660 West Second Street, Suite 750 Cleveland, Ohio 44113 [phone] Fax: [phone] [e-mail] Counsel for Petitioner Idris Ahmed Qadir Idris

-3-