Academic

Hamdan: Coming Soon To A Theater Near You

By Tim Zinnecker

Most readers are familiar, to some extent, with Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, a case that addressed whether military tribunals established by the Bush administration had the authority to try detainees being held at Guantanamo.

A few months ago, Jonathan Mahler published his account of Salim Hamdan?s epic legal journey in his book titled The Challenge:  Hamdan v. Rumsfeld and the Fight over Presidential Power.   The ?definitive work on an epic Supreme Court case,? says Jeffrey Toobin.  Anthony Lewis found it to be ?a riveting story? that he ?could not stop reading.?  And my next dean (also a retired admiral and former judge advocate general), Don Guter, praises the book as ?informative and fascinating.?

Additional information on the book can be found here,  and a twenty-minute audio interview with the author is here.

A film version of Mahler's courtroom drama is already in the works.  George Clooney will produce the movie and also possibly direct the film and/or portray Navy lawyer Charles Swift.  The screenplay will be penned by Aaron Sorkin, of West Wing fame.

So who do readers think should portray Hamdan?s other lawyer, Georgetown law professor Neal Katyal (pictured)?

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on April 10, 2009 (boomark / email).