Court allows military trial panels

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear the case of a Guantanamo detainee challenging the legality of the military commission system that plans to try him on charges of war crimes.

Detainee Salim Ahmed Hamdan, who once was the driver for Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, is accused of conspiracy and supporting terrorism.

Hamdan had sought to combine his case with a separate challenge the Supreme Court is considering regarding detainees at the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The justices will review the cases of detainees who do not face military commission trials and who are challenging their indefinite confinement. Some detainees have been held for more than five years.

A year ago, Hamdan brought a successful challenge in the Supreme Court to the military commission system created by President Bush following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

In response, the White House persuaded the Republican-controlled Congress to pass a law approving the military commissions.

In asking the justices to take up Hamdan’s case, his lawyers said the new law violated his rights because it allowed for only a narrow challenge if a defendant was found guilty.

Hamdan’s lawyers argued that there was no provision for review of a military commission’s factual conclusions. If convicted, Hamdan could face life in prison.

A federal judge ruled last December that Hamdan had no rights because he is a Yemeni national detained outside the sovereign territory of the United States.

Hamdan was captured by Afghan forces in Afghanistan and turned over to the American military in November 2001.