Justices reject first Gitmo appeal

WASHINGTON, June 16 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the first Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detainee's case since ruling prisoners may appeal their detentions in civilian court.

Without comment, the panel dismissed a plea by a Syrian national Abdul Rahim Abdul Razak Al Ginco, ordering lower courts to reach a decision on his challenges to detention. The U.S. Justice Department did responded to the mandamus request.

The court also turned aside a case seeking a claim to file an immediate appeal when a federal judge refused a federal government request to dismiss a case against a foreign government. The case involved a claim that Exxon used soldiers of the Indonesian military to guard its plant in that country, and the soldiers engaged in atrocities toward villagers.

Justice Samuel Alito, Jr., who owns ExxonMobil stock, did not take part in Monday's denial order.

The court also turned down a appeal challenging U.S. Labor Department regulations that bar workers from privately settling with their employers claims under the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, unless the release gets government or court approval.

The court also declined to hear whether it is unconstitutional for a state to ban the production of a food item, if all of the product is exported to other countries.

In another Illinois case, the court decided not to hear an appeal seeking to define types of evidence of child abuse or neglect that state officials must produce before threatening to separate parents and children while an investigation proceeds.