U.S. Appellate Court Blocks Detention of Al-Marri as Enemy Combatant

On June 11, 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that the President cannot declare U.S. civilians detained in the U.S. “enemy combatants” and have the military hold them indefinitely.  The ruling is a major rebuke to one of the Bush Administration’s central initiatives in the war on terror.¹