Press Release

NIU College of Law Professor Marc D. Falkoff Presents Forum About Guantánamo Bay Detainee's Rights

October 17, 2008

DeKalb, Ill. -- Northern Illinois University College of Law Assistant Professor Marc D. Falkoff delivered a presentation, Defending Habeas Corpus and the Constitution in Guantánamo, to a standing-room only crowd on October 16 at the NIU Holmes Student Center.

In 2004, Falkoff was the principal counsel in filing the first habeas petitions requesting court hearings for 17 Yemeni detainees at Guantánamo Bay. The men had been held at the prison camp without having charges filed against them and without being convicted of any wrongdoing, which Falkoff asserts is unlawful under both the U.S. Constitution and the Geneva Conventions. A federal district court sided with Falkoff, ruling in 2005 that the detainees are entitled to a hearing in civilian court. However, the passage of the Military Commissions Act by Congress in 2006 denied the detainees of their right to contest their detention before a civilian judge. Last December, Falkoff and other Guantánamo lawyers challenged the constitutionality of the law before the U.S. Supreme Court. Their case resulted in a landmark Supreme Court decision in June, which upholds the detainees’ habeas corpus rights under the U.S. Constitution and Geneva Conventions.

Professor Falkoff joined the NIU Law faculty in August 2006 and teaches courses in criminal law, criminal procedure, lawyering skills and federal courts. He graduated from Columbia Law School and also holds a Ph.D. in American Literature from Brandeis University, an M.A. from the University of Michigan, and a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.

The forum was co-sponsored by the NIU History Department and the DeKalb Interfaith Network for Peace and Justice. There is no charge for this event.  

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For more information, contact: 
Melody Mitchell
Alumni Events & Public Relations
(815) 753-9655 or mmitchell@niu.edu