United States v. Ghailani
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
733 F.3d 29 (2013)
Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani (defendant) helped detonate explosives at two U.S. embassies in Africa and was indicted on 282 counts in 1998, evading capture for six years. After his eventual capture, he was held by the CIA and then detained for three years at Guantanamo Bay awaiting military-commission proceedings. After President Obama shifted enemy-combatant prosecutions to civilian courts, Ghailani moved to dismiss his indictment, arguing his five years in custody violated his Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial. The district court denied the motion, and Ghailani was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
Whether determining if an enemy combatant's Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial was violated requires examining (1) the length and reasons for the delay, (2) whether the defendant asserted the right, and (3) whether the defendant was prejudiced by the delay.