Nine years removed from the 9/11 attacks, we remain bogged down in debate regarding the proper role, if any, for military detention in relation to terrorism. Some are calling for legislation to define more specifically who may be detained. Others object that this question should be left to the judiciary to resolve in the Guantanamo habeas cases, and that legislation might actually worsen the situation. Professor Chesney discusses who has the better argument, and whether any of this matters beyond Guantanamo.
Bobby Chesney is a national security law specialist, with a particular interest in problems associated with terrorism. Professor Chesney recently served in the Justice Department in connection with the Detainee Policy Task Force created by Executive Order 13493. He is a member of the Advisory Committee of the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Law and National Security, a senior editor for the Journal of National Security Law & Policy, an associate member of the Intelligence Science Board, a non-resident senior fellow of the Brookings Institution, a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a member of the American Law Institute. Professor Chesney has published extensively on topics ranging from detention and prosecution in the counterterrorism context to the states secrets privilege. He served previously as chair of the Section on National Security Law of the Association of American Law Schools and as editor of the National Security Law Report (published by the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Law and National Security). His upcoming projects include two books under contract with Oxford University Press, one concerning the evolution of detention law and policy and the other examining the judicial role in national security affairs.