Perkins Coie Wins Reversal of Conviction of Osama bin Laden’s Driver, Salim Hamdan

10.16.2012 | PRESS RELEASES

D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Vacates 2008 Guantanamo Bay Military Commission Conviction

WASHINGTON, D.C. – (October 16, 2012) The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit today reversed and vacated the conviction of Salim Ahmed Hamdan for material support for terrorism. Mr. Hamdan was a driver for Osama bin Laden. He was tried in a Military Commission in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Although the military jury acquitted him of conspiracy, it convicted him of material support for terrorism, a crime created by act of Congress in the Military Commissions Act of 2006, 10 U.S.C. § 948a et seq. But Mr. Hamdan’s conduct occurred in 1996 to 2001, well before the Military Commissions Act was enacted. The D.C. Circuit ruled that the Military Commissions Act should not be construed to apply retroactively, because doing so would implicate the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition on Ex Post Facto laws. Regardless of the status of the defendant, the Constitution prohibits Congress from passing a criminal law that is Ex Post Facto. U.S. Const. art. I, section 9. The Court’s decision recognizes this is a bedrock principle of the American rule of law that applies in times of perceived emergency as well as times of peace. The Court also considered whether the Military Commission had the power to try Mr. Hamdan for material support for terrorism under other authority, 10 U.S.C. § 821, that predated the Military Commissions Act. The Court concluded that the Military Commission did not because as the Government conceded, material support for terrorism—unlike the crime of terrorism itself—was not and is not a violation of the international law of war, which is a necessary predicate for trial by Military Commission.

Perkins Coie, joined by appointed military counsel and at times civilian co-counsel, represented Mr. Hamdan at all stages of this matter. Joseph M. McMillan argued the case to the D.C. Circuit.

https://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2011/04/perkins-coie-judith-corley-got-obamas-birth-certificate.html

APRIL 27, 2011

Perkins Coie Got Obama's Birth Certificate

It fell to a partner from the Washington office of Perkins Coie to obtain a copy of President Barack Obama's original birth certificate.

According to copies of letters released today by White House officials, partner Judith Corley initiated the process last week and planned to travel to Hawaii to pick up two copies. Corley represents the president in his personal matters, a job she assumed last year when Robert Bauer left Perkins Coie to become White House counsel.

Corley wrote to Loretta Fuddy in Hawaii’s state health department on April 22. “I am writing on behalf of my client, President Barack Obama,” the letter begins.

She wrote that Obama long ago requested a copy of a “short form” birth certificate, a computer-generated document that is widely accepted by other government agencies. But Corley wrote to ask for a waiver of health department policy to make available two copies of the original, “long form” birth certificate.

Corley did not return messages requesting comment today, but her letter notes her planned travel to Hawaii. “Pursuant to my client’s authorization,” she wrote, “I will be coming to your offices to pick up the copies of the certificates.”

Also among the White House documents (PDF) is a letter few lawyers can claim to have: an authorization from the president to act on his behalf. Obama wrote a one-paragraph letter authorizing Corley to provide any additional information, pay any fees and arrange for the delivery of copies of the birth certificate.

As Obama’s personal counsel, Corley also handles his required financial disclosure reports but little else, according to a January 2010 interview with The National Law Journal. “He doesn’t have a lot of personal legal issues, which is a good thing, I guess,” Corley said then. “I hope it stays that way.”

She’s been a partner at Seattle-based Perkins Coie since 1994. She represented then-Rep. Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.) during his 1988 and 2004 presidential runs and America Coming Together, a tax-exempt 527 group that opposed President George W. Bush’s re-election.

Update (2:02 p.m.): Bauer confirmed in a news conference today that Corley did travel personally to Honolulu to pick up copies of the birth certificate.