Judge Richard Leon

Richard Leon, a judge for the U.S. District Court for Washington DC, ruled that five Algerian detainees at Guantanamo Bay be released after serving seven years at the prison. The ruling comes after the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the detainees have the legal right to contest their imprisonment.The New York Times: Judge Orders Five Detainees Freed From Guantánamo (November 20, 2008)

The lawyers of the released detainees argued that their clients should not be considered "enemy combatants" because they were not captured on the battlefield in Afghanistan. Government attorneys countered that defense by claiming that the men were planning to travel to Afghanistan to join al-Qaeda.The Boston Globe: Lawyers debate 'enemy combatant' (October 24, 2008)