Indian-born lawyer Neal Katyal won case for Osama bin Laden’s driver long before blocking Trump tariffs

Neal Katyal, American lawyer credited with gaining professional Supreme Court U.S. President Donald Trump has had a long history of high-profile legal victories in setbacks for his tariff policies, including a Supreme Court case defending a former Guantanamo Bay detainee. Osama Bin Ladendriver.Ketil, 55, argued before the U.S. Supreme Court this week on behalf of small businesses and trade associations challenging Trump’s sweeping tariff action. The court ruled 6-3 that the president does not have the authority to impose broad tariffs without express congressional approval, reaffirming the Constitution’s limits on executive power.

In a statement after the ruling, Cartier wrote that the Supreme Court “defends the rule of law and Americans around the world” and said the decision was a “complete victory” for his clients.His legal career stretches back decades. In 2006, Katyal served as Hamdan v. Rumsfelda U.S. Supreme Court case challenging the Bush administration’s military tribunal system at Guantanamo Bay.The case involves Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Yemeni national who was captured in Afghanistan in 2001 and worked as a driver and guard for Osama bin Laden. Hamdan was one of the first detainees designated to face military commission trial at Guantánamo Bay. In a 5-3 opinion, the Supreme Court held that the structure of military commissions violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the Geneva Conventions because they lacked appropriate congressional authority.Katir and his deputy lawyers argued that the executive branch had no authority to establish military commissions outside the normal procedures of military justice and international law. The decision marks a major check on executive wartime powers and underscores the role of courts in enforcing legal protections for detainees.Neil was born in Chicago in 1970 to parents who immigrated from India. Katyal has become one of the most experienced appellate attorneys in the United States. He served as acting deputy attorney general under President Barack Obama in 2010-11 and tried more than 50 cases before the Supreme Court.Katyal is currently a partner at the law firm Milbank LLP in Washington, D.C., and a professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center.