No. 16-1307 In the Supreme Court of the United States ALI HAMZA AHMAD SULIMAN AL BAHLUL, PETITIONER v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ON PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT BRIEF FOR THE UNITED STATES IN OPPOSITION JEFFREY B. WALL Acting Solicitor General Counsel of Record DANA J. BOENTE Acting Assistant Attorney General JOSEPH F. PALMER DANIELLE S. TARIN Attorneys Department of Justice Washington, D.C. 20530-0001 [email protected] (202) 514-2217 QUESTIONS PRESENTED 1. Whether the military commission plainly erred in not sua sponte dismissing the charge against petitioner of conspiracy to commit war crimes on the ground that Congress violated Article III by making that offense triable by military commission. 2. Whether the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (2006 MCA), 10 U.S.C. 948a et seq. (2006), authorizes prosecutions for conspiracy to commit war crimes based on conduct committed before its enactment. 3. Whether petitioner’s conspiracy conviction based on conduct that pre-dated enactment of the 2006 MCA plainly violated the Ex Post Facto Clause. 4. Whether the 2006 MCA plainly violated the equal protection component of the Due Process Clause because it limited the jurisdiction of military commissions to of- fenses committed by alien unlawful enemy combatants. (I) TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Opinions below .............................................................................. 1 Jurisdiction .................................................................................... 1 Statement ...................................................................................... 2 Argument ..................................................................................... 15 Conclusion ................................................................................... 33 TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Cases: Al-Bihani v. Obama, 590 F.3d 866 (D.C. Cir. 2010), cert. denied, 563 U.S. 929 (2011) ....................................... 32 B&B Hardware, Inc. v. Hargis Indus., Inc., 135 S. Ct. 1293 (2015) ......................................................... 18 Callan v. Wilson, 127 U.S. 540 (1888) ................................. 23 Colepaugh v. Looney, 235 F.2d 429 (10th Cir. 1956), cert. denied, 352 U.S. 1014 (1957) ..................................... 22 Collins v. Youngblood, 497 U.S. 37 (1990) .......................... 29 Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, 548 U.S. 557 (2006) ......2, 3, 20, 21, 22 Hamdan v. United States, 696 F.3d 1238 (D.C. Cir. 2012) ..................................................................... 7 Harisiades v. Shaughnessy, 342 U.S. 580 (1952) ............... 32 Marks v. United States, 430 U.S. 188 (1977) ...................... 25 Mathews v. Diaz, 426 U.S. 67 (1976) ................................... 31 Northern Pipeline Constr. Co. v. Marathon Pipe Line Co., 458 U.S. 50 (1982) ............................................... 20 Pinkerton v. United States, 328 U.S. 640 (1946) ................ 14 Puckett v. United States, 556 U.S. 129 (2009) .............. 17, 18 Quirin, Ex parte, 317 U.S. 1 (1942) .............. 12, 20, 21, 22, 23 United States v. Baucum, 80 F.3d 539 (D.C. Cir. 1996) ................................................................... 18 United States v. Cotton, 535 U.S. 625 (2002) ...................... 17 (III) IV Cases—Continued: Page United States v. Ferreira, 275 F.3d 1020 (11th Cir. 2001) .................................................................... 31 United States v. Haddock, 956 F.2d 1534 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 828 (1992) ................... 28 United States v. Harcrow, 66 M.J. 154 (C.A.A.F. 2008) .................................................................... 17 United States v. Marcus, 560 U.S. 258 (2010) .................... 28 United States v. Miranda, 780 F.3d 1185 (D.C. Cir. 2015) ................................................................... 17 United States v. Neuci-Peña, 711 F.3d 191 (1st Cir. 2013) ...................................................................... 18 United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725 (1993) ........... 16, 19, 27 United States v. Williams, 341 U.S. 58 (1951) ................... 17 Wellness Int’l Network, Ltd. v. Sharif, 135 S. Ct. 1932 (2015) ......................................................... 18 Wood v. Allen, 558 U.S. 290 (2010) ...................................... 28 Yakus v. United States, 321 U.S. 414 (1944) ....................... 28 Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 U.S. 579 (1952).............................................................. 20 Constitution and statutes: U.S. Const.: Art. I ........................................................................ passim § 8: Cl. 1 ........................................................................ 20 Cl. 10 (Define and Punish Clause) ..... 11, 13, 18, 20 Cl. 11 (Declare War Clause) ......................... 11, 21 Cls. 11-14 ............................................................... 20 Cl. 18 (Necessary and Proper Clause) ......... 20, 21 § 9, Cl. 3 (Ex Post Facto Clause) .................... passim V Constitution and statutes—Continued: Page Art. III ..................................................................... passim § 1 ............................................................................... 20 Amend. V .......................................................................... 23 Due Process Clause ................................6, 7, 12, 15, 30 Amend. VI ........................................................................ 23 Authorization for Use of Military Force, Pub. L. No. 107-40, § 2(a), 115 Stat. 224 ............................. 2 Espionage Act, ch. 30, 40 Stat. 217 ...................................... 23 Military Commissions Act of 2006, 10 U.S.C. 948a et seq. (2006) .......................................................................... 3 10 U.S.C. 948a .................................................................. 27 10 U.S.C. 948b(a) ............................................................... 3 10 U.S.C. 948d(a) ............................................................. 27 10 U.S.C. 950u .................................................................... 2 10 U.S.C. 950v(b)(1) .......................................................... 3 10 U.S.C. 950v(b)(2) .......................................................... 3 10 U.S.C. 950v(b)(24) ........................................................ 3 10 U.S.C. 950v(b)(25) ........................................................ 2 10 U.S.C. 950v(b)(28) .................................................... 2, 4 Military Commissions Act of 2009, 10 U.S.C. 948a et seq. ...................................................................................... 4 10 U.S.C. 950p(b) ............................................................. 27 10 U.S.C. 950p(d) ............................................................. 27 Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. 801 et seq. ...................................................................................... 2 10 U.S.C. 821 .......................................................... 2, 3, 8, 9 War Crimes Act of 1996, 18 U.S.C. 2441 et seq. ................. 23 18 U.S.C. 2332(b) (2000) ........................................................ 29 VI Miscellaneous: Page 152 Cong. Rec. 20,727 (2006) ................................................ 27 Manual for Military Commissions (rev. ed. 2016) ........... 17 In the Supreme Court of the United States No. 16-1307 ALI HAMZA AHMAD SULIMAN AL BAHLUL, PETITIONER v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ON PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT BRIEF FOR THE UNITED STATES IN OPPOSITION OPINIONS BELOW The opinion of the court of appeals (Pet. App. 1-163) is reported at 840 F.3d 757. Prior opinions of the court of appeals (Pet. App. 165-301, 303-452) are reported at 792 F.3d 1 and 767 F.3d 1. The opinion of the United States Court of Military Commission Review (Pet. App. 455-680) is reported at 820 F. Supp. 2d 1141. JURISDICTION The judgment of the court of appeals was entered on October 20, 2016. A petition for rehearing was denied on November 28, 2016 (Pet. App. 681). On February 2, 2017, the Chief Justice extended the time within which to file a petition for a writ of certiorari to and including March 28, 2017, and the petition was filed on that date. The jurisdiction of this Court is invoked under 10 U.S.C. 950g(e) and 28 U.S.C. 1254(1). (1) 2 STATEMENT Following a trial by military commission at Guantá- namo Bay, Cuba, petitioner was convicted of conspiracy to commit offenses triable by military commission, in vi- olation of 10 U.S.C. 950v(b)(28) (2006); solicitation of others to commit offenses triable by military commis- sion, in violation of 10 U.S.C. 950u (2006); and providing material support for terrorism, in violation of 10 U.S.C. 950v(b)(25) (2006). Pet. App. 461-462. Petitioner was sentenced to life imprisonment. Id. at 461. The United States Court of Military Commission Review (USCMCR) affirmed. Id. at 455-680. The court of appeals affirmed petitioner’s conspiracy conviction and reversed peti- tioner’s convictions for solicitation and providing mate- rial support for terrorism. Id. at 1-163, 165-301, 303-452. 1. On September 11, 2001, the al Qaeda terrorist or- ganization attacked the United States and killed nearly 3000 people. Pet. App. 472; 11/2/15 Gov’t C.A. Br. 4. In response, Congress authorized the President