Military Courts: DOD Should Assess the Tradeoffs Associated With Expanding Public Access to and Information About Terrorism Trials
Abstract
DOD is in the pre-trial phase of the military commissions proceedings it is conducting to try the alleged perpetrators of terrorist attacks on the USS Cole and September 11, 2001. The Military Commissions Act of 2009 specifies that proceedings shall be publicly held unless the judge makes findings that justify a closed session, such as national security concerns. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 included a provision for GAO to study the feasibility and advisability of expanding access to commissions proceedings that are open to the public. This report describes (1) how DOD currently facilitates public access to proceedings; (2) challenges the public faces in gaining access to or obtaining information on proceedings; and (3) what is known about potential options to address public access challenges, including any related tradeoffs. GAO analyzed relevant laws and guidance; conducted a non-generalizable survey that received responses from 248 victims of terrorist attacks and their family members; collected data from DODs website to analyze timeliness of court document postings; and interviewed relevant DOD officials and other government and non-government stakeholders.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1156887
Entities
People
- Amie Lesser
- Brenda S. Farrell
- Carl Ramirez
- Chris Turner
- Christina A Murphy
- Clarice Ransom
- Jill Lacey
- John Van Schaik
- Kathryn Bassion
- Kimberly Mayo
- Ned Malone
- Paul Seely
- Ronald La Due Lake
- Samuel A. Moore
- Samuel Portnow
- Signe Janoska-bedi
- Steven Campbell
- Tracy Barnes
- Ying Long
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office