(June 11, 2012) One day before the fourth anniversary of its most important ruling during the government's "war on terrorism," the Supreme Court confirmed emphatically on Monday that it is not now inclined to further second-guess the government's detention policy.

Without one noted dissent, the Court turned down seven separate appeals by Guantanamo Bay prisoners, and refused to review an appeal by U.S. citizen Jose Padilla — one of the best-known prisoners captured as a terrorism suspect, who was complaining of torture during his detention in a Navy brig.

The Court swiftly denied the Padilla case, on its first look, but it did not act hastily on the Guantanamo cases. It had examined those repeatedly, very likely going over them one by one in search of possible issues it would find worthy of review, but apparently finding none.

The practical effect is that the D.C. Circuit Court now functions as the court of last resort for the 169 foreign nationals remaining at the U.