I’ve just stumbled across K Yew’s most excellent blog, “The Most Significant US Supreme Court Decision this Century” and his analysis of one of my all time favourite cases, Boumediene v. Bush.
Boumediene is my favourite case for several reasons: I love Seth Waxman’s advocacy, I love the detailed analysis of English common law and I love listening to the oral submissions – and comparing the submisions with the Justices’ written Opinions. The tension between emotion and logic (and that’s just in Scalia’s Opinion!) makes this case compelling.
Even if you’re not interested in whether Combatant Status Review Tribunals provide the equivalent of habeas corpus – or whether the writ can indeed run all the way to Guantanamo Bay, Seth Waxman (for Boumediene) delivers an unmissable master-class in higher court advocacy and how to structure an argument.
Listen to and read Mr Waxman’s use of three. You’ll see it’s a clear and powerful way of getting your point across.
Transcript and oral argument recording here.
SCOTUS decision here.
