Issue of detainee abuse photos may go to high court

Source: CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Obama administration is turning to the Supreme Court as it seeks to block public release of photos apparently depicting abuse of suspected terrorists and foreign soldiers in U.S. custody.

Justice Department lawyers late Thursday told a federal appeals court in New York — the same one on which high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor sits — to hold off a ruling ordering release of the material, saying they plan to ask the justices to hear their case.

The government said it would proceed “absent intervening legislation” from Congress.

The “motion to recall” comes after President Barack Obama ordered government lawyers earlier this month to object to the court-ordered release of photos depicting the mistreatment of prisoners held in Iraq and Afghanistan, reversing an earlier White House decision. The Pentagon had been set to release hundreds of photos in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.


Read more: http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2009/05/29/issue-of-detainee-abuse-photos-may-go-to-high-court/

...for years (some news accounts said 3 years and some 5 years) and so unless the House doesn't pass that, too, the photos will be delayed.