Federal judge bars US from sending detainees abroad without notice News
Federal judge bars US from sending detainees abroad without notice

[JURIST] US District Judge Henry Kennedy [official profile] issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday ordering the military to give detainees' lawyers 30 days' notice before transferring a detainee from Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] to the custody of foreign governments, allowing time for the transfer to be challenged. After considering whether US courts have jurisdiction to oversee decisions about where to move Gitmo detainees [JURIST report], Judge Kennedy said he was preventing transfers without advance notice to bar the government from "unilaterally and silently taking actions" to move detainees outside the reach of US courts. Read Judge Kennedy's memorandum opinion [PDF text] and order [PDF text]. The Washington Post has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.