David H. Remes

David H. Remes (born 1954) is an American lawyer.

Remes is a former partner at the law firm Covington & Burling.

Volunteered to serve Guantanamo captives Remes is notable for volunteering to serve as a pro bono attorney for some of the captives held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.

Remes played a role in a challenge focused around the captives' detention based on an avenue of appeal that the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 (DTA) opened. The Military Commission Act of 2006 (MCA) closed down the pending habeas corpus cases. Attorneys for the captives have both initiated a challenge to the constitutionality of the MCA's stripping of the right to habeas corpus; and they have initiated appeals in the DC Federal Courts of appeal.

The DTA's limited avenue of appeal only allows challenges as to whether the Combatant Status Review Tribunal correctly followed their rules.

Defense of Adnan Latif Remes continued his pro bono legal work on behalf of captives held in extra judicial detention at Guantanamo Bay, taking on the case of Adnan Farhan Abd Al Latif one of his most notable clients.

Though Latif was ordered to be released in 2004, 2007, 2009 and lastly in July 2010 by district court Judge Henry H. Kennedy, Jr., an appeals court that handles Guantanamo habeas cases reversed the decision in October 2011, and in 2012 the Supreme Court turned down the Latif case.

Remes was quoted in a CNN article as saying related to the Latif case and efforts to get Latif transferred or released "So now, the executive is against transfers, Congress is against transfers and the courthouse doors are shut," "All three branches of the government are aligned against us.".

On September 8, 2012, Latif, who had a history of mental illness, was said to have committed suicide by the Department of Defense. and Remes via Amnesty International promised to continue his work on behalf of Guantanamo detainees who have been ordered released, only to have their cases reversed by appeals courts. However, Latif's cause of death is now in question.

Publications