The 4th Circuit US Court of Appeals in Richmond, VA, issued a 5-4 ruling July 15 finding that if the government's allegations against Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri are true, the president is empowered by Congress to hold al-Marri in a military prison without charge as an enemy combatant, under the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). The ruling overturned the 4th Circuit's prior decision holding that the military cannot seize and imprison as "enemy combatants" civilians lawfully residing in the US. (Jurist, July 16)

See our last post on the detainment scandal.