Munaf, Mohammad v. Harvey, Francis

I believe the district court had jurisdiction over Munafs habeas corpus petition. The critical considerations are that Munaf is an American citizen and that he is held by American forces overseas. Hirota v. MacArthur, 338 U.S. 197, 69 S.Ct. 197, 93 L.Ed. 1902 (1948) (per curiam), in which the habeas petitioners were Japanese citizens held in Japan, therefore does not apply. There is a longstanding jurisdictional distinction between citizens and aliens detained outside the sovereign territory of the United States. In Johnson v. Eisentrager, 339 U.S. 763, 781, 70 S.Ct. 936, 94 L.Ed. 1255…