One of the three judges asked a few interesting questions, another one or two, and the third was completely silent, not a peep out of him. The gist of Cole’s argument was that if Arar had been beaten and tortured in the holding cell at the airport,the U.S. would have been liable, and that the mere convenient fact of them having out-sourced the job via rendition could, or at least should, have no impact on that liability.

As it happens, I rode the elevator down with the team of U.S. Justice Department lawyers who had also skillfully risen to the challenge, even if they had had to pervert their intellects to get the job done. Their arguments were narrowly focused on this or that technicality; they could not and did not speak to Cole’s principled argument, not if they wanted to “win.”

Not one to let an opportunity like that go by, in the confined space of the elevator to my captive audience, somewhat volubly, I asked whether they understood that “we” (though it was only me, but I presumed to speak for others) did not want prisoners tortured in our name. The only woman on the team said to me by way of an answer, “We’re tired.” And you know, Andy, she really did look tired. I could only say, “So are we.”

Now with this terrible Supreme Court decision by non-decision the possibilities for judicial justice for Arar in the U.S. have been exhausted. But I don’t feel tired any more; just enraged, and as a consequence, invigorated.