( CNN ) -- David Remes used to be a partner at a top Washington law firm , but he left four years ago to defend , for free , prisoners at the U.S. military facility at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba . It seemed like a good idea at the time . The U.S. Supreme Court had just opened its door to Guantanamo prisoners in Boumediene v. Bush . The case recognized the prisoners ' right to challenge their detentions in court , even if they were n't U.S. citizens and even though they were imprisoned abroad . At the time , the controversial detention center was frequently in headlines and talked about on the campaign trail . As one of his first acts in office , President Barack Obama signed an executive order requiring that the Guantanamo Bay detention facility be closed within a year . Three and a half years later , it 's still open , and it 's faded from the public eye . Earlier this month , the Supreme Court refused to take a fresh look at the habeas corpus petitions by the suspected foreign enemy fighters for the second year in a row . Supreme Court declines fresh review of Guantanamo detainee issue . Guantanamo prisoners still have the right to challenge their detentions , Remes said , but it 's more symbolic than real . In his opinion , the Supreme Court has shut the door on Guantanamo . `` I would n't say I 'm numb , '' Remes told CNN . `` But I am realistic . I tell my clients my pessimism has never failed me . I do n't want to give them hope unless there is hope . There 's less hope now than ever . '' Hear CNN 's Libby Lewis talk to David Remes on iTunes about the court 's decision . Of the 169 people still detained , the government says 89 are n't a threat , but Obama and Congress have blocked their release . As for the rest , some of them have a shot at a military hearing , but 46 do n't have that chance because the government says they ca n't be tried for one reason or another but are too dangerous to be released . `` So now , the executive is against transfers , Congress is against transfers and the courthouse doors are shut , '' Remes says . `` All three branches of the government are aligned against us . '' If there was any Guantanamo prisoner case that lawyers thought the Supreme Court would take up , it was Adnan Latif 's of Yemen . Remes is his lawyer . Federal appeals court rules against Guantanamo detainee . The government says Latif went to Afghanistan to fight for al Qaeda . Latif says he went to Afghanistan and Pakistan to get medical treatment with the help of an Islamic charity . He 's been at Guantanamo for 10 years . `` Adnan is a very disturbed young man , '' Remes says . `` He has been in the psych ward . He 's been on suicide watch . He has eaten screws , urine cups , plastic bags . He would smear excrement all over his body . I once said to him : How can you stand the smell ? He said , 'That 's nothing compared to what I 'm feeling . ' `` Over the years , Remes has gotten to know Latif . He says he 's familiar with his mental problems , his apparent suicide attempts , his poetry . At one meeting he had with his client -- then in his seventh year as a prisoner -- Remes says Latif threw a cup of his blood on him . He 'd cut a vein in his wrist and let the blood flow into an empty cup under the table where they sat . The next time they met , Remes says , the prison guards had Latif in so many restraints that Remes had to call a federal judge for help when Latif wanted to use the bathroom . They had to litigate it over the phone . He said the judge `` did n't want to second-guess the security aspect and he said , 'Well , he 's got to be able to clean himself , ' `` Remes said . About a year later , that same judge , U.S. District Judge Henry H. Kennedy , reviewed the evidence against Latif in a petition for habeas corpus -- the right that was granted to Guantanamo prisoners in the Boumediene case . Kennedy found the government 's evidence , based on an intelligence report by U.S. agents , was n't reliable enough to keep Latif locked up . And he found Latif 's story was plausible , so he ordered Latif 's release in July 2010 . But in a 2-1 vote , the appeals court that reviews all Guantanamo habeas cases reversed that in October 2011 . The appeals court said Kennedy should have automatically presumed the government 's intelligence report on Latif was reliable and rejected the case . Latif is still a prisoner at Guantanamo . Federal appeals court rules against Guantanamo detainee . After the Supreme Court turned down Latif 's case on June 11 , Remes called Latif to tell him . He also called Latif 's family in Yemen . Remes asked Latif 's younger brother , Ibrahim , whether he had any questions . Ibrahim wanted to know why his brother had n't been released even though a federal judge said he should be . Remes said he explained what happened , and they talked a bit more . Then , Remes said Ibrahim thanked him `` from the depth of my family 's heart for all you have done , '' and hung up .
Lawyer David Remes says the Supreme Court has shut down on Guantanamo . The high court this year turned down all requests from Gitmo detainees . Guantanamo detention center houses 169 prisoners .