JAG CENTRAL

From the Seattle Times:

His lawsuit, Santiago v. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, will be heard today in a special sitting of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle.

It will be the highest court review of the Army's "stop-loss" policy, which affects about 14,000 soldiers nationwide.

Of the 4,200 citizen soldiers in the state's 81st Brigade Combat Team, the deployments of 412 were extended through stop-loss, according to National Guard officials.

Santiago's legal battle has attracted national attention but is most loudly trumpeted by groups opposing the war, adding a political dimension to what his lawyer says is ultimately a case about fairness.

In November 2002, the Army implemented stop-loss to ensure reserve units ordered to active duty would not lose key personnel.

UPDATE: Amazingly, the Ninth Circuit issued this very short opinion summarily affirming the court below and refusing to give Santiago his injunction. Santiago will deploy to Afghanistan as scheduled. Thanks to Gene Vorobyov at Appellate Law & Practice for the pointer.