Study

The detention of suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base has been ongoing for seventeen years.  Of the 40 detainees still held at Guantanamo, two have been convicted after trial by military commission, and eight have charges pending for trial by military commission.  The Supreme Court has yet to rule on the most fundamental constitutional, international-law, and law-of-war questions raised by these detentions and military commission proceedings. 

This one-credit readings course will focus on those questions.  The class will examine the underlying constitutional, policy, and international-relations dilemmas involved, identify the set of potential resolutions, and consider the ramifications of each.

Reading Summaries, Issue Introductions, and Discussion Questions

At the start of each class, one student will give a brief (< 5 min.) summary of the readings for that week and provide a brief (< 5 min.) introduction of the major legal issues posed. 

All students other than the one presenting the session’s reading summary and issue introduction will email a discussion question arising from the readings to me (morris@law.duke.edu) and my assistant (Leanna Doty, leanna.doty@law.duke.edu), by 4:30 on the day of the class.

Final paper:  Carefully define, and then address in a ten-page essay, a question arising in or from the course readings and discussion.  The paper will be due on the last day of exam period.

Spring 2020

Course Number	Course Credits	Evaluation Method	Instructor
611.19	Course Credits 1	Reflective Writing Class participation	Madeline Morris
Sakai site: https://sakai.duke.edu/portal/site/LAW.611.19.Sp20
Email list: LAW.611.19.Sp20@sakai.duke.edu