The Al-Qaeda terror attacks of September 11, 2001, aroused a number of extraordinary counter measures in response, including an executive order authorizing the creation of military tribunals or -commissions- for the trial of accused terrorists. The Supreme Court has weighed in on the topic with some controversial and deeply divided decisions, most recently Hamdan v. Rumsfeld.

At this critical moment in time, Extraordinary Justice seeks to fill an important gap in our understanding of what military tribunals are, how they function, and how successful they...