US federal judge suspends Hicks trial

[maddezmom]

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A US federal judge ordered the suspension of the trial of accused "Australian Taliban" David Hicks ahead of an anticipated ruling by the US Supreme Court on the legality of post-September 11 special military tribunals.

The Hicks trial by such a tribunal was to begin on Friday.

US District Judge Colleen Kollar Kotelly said in her ruling that the parties "are enjoined from going forward with any and all legal proceedings associated with the military commission process."

She said the suspension will remain in effect "pending the issuance of a final and ultimate decision by the Supreme Court in that case."

~snip~

The Pentagon had no immediate reaction to the ruling. But it came hours after defense officials expressed expressed their firm determination to go ahead with Hicks's trial, citing the Australian government's expressed desire to see the case handled by a military commission.


more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051115/pl_afp/usaustraliaguantanamo_051115045014

[cal04]

1. Trial delay mixed news for Hicks: lawyer

The president of the Law Council of Australia says a court ruling delaying the trial of Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks is both good and bad news.
Hicks, who has been detained at the US prison for more than three-and-a-half years, was due to face trial by military commission on Saturday. However, US District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly has ordered a stay in the proceedings, pending a decision from the US Supreme Court in the case of Hamdan versus Rumsfeld.

John North says Hicks is between a rock and a hard place. "He cannot go before the military commission because his lawyers and everybody else who's looked at it know that they are unfair," he said. "Therefore, he has no choice but to try and have it quashed by the Supreme Court. "One would think it'd have to go into next year, which will move David Hicks into his fifth year of detention. "That means that he cannot get a fair trial before any court, because people's memories will have faded." Mr North says it is "a shocking state of affairs".
"The Australian Government should demand that he be sent home," he said.
Hamdan case
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200511/s1507485.htm


Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick will meet with their Australian counterparts in Adelaide on Thursday and Friday as part of a US-Australian ministerial meeting marking the 20th anniversary of such conferences. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, Defence Minister Robert Hill, and other senior Australian government officials are expected to take part, according to US officials.

"The United States has no closer alliance partner than Australia," Mr Zoellick said in a statement. "Our special partnership is built on the solid foundation of common values and our shared commitment to a free, secure, and prosperous world." Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said he expected the case of Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks and the US military commission process to be discussed at the meetings.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200511/s1507345.htm
something doesn't seem right with this case