1. Al-Kidd v. Ashcroft (9th Cir. Mar. 18, 2010) (denying en banc review)
As you may recall, a Ninth Circuit panel previously refused to dismiss a civil suit against former Attorney General John Ashcroft involving allegations that Ashcroft directed the use of the material witness statute to carry out arrests in violation of the 4th Amendment. Over an 8-judge dissent, the full Ninth Circuit has now denied en banc review of that decision. The dissenting opinions, as well as a concurrence in the denial responding to them, are posted here: http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2010/03/18/06-36059.pdf
2. United States v. David Headley (N.D. Ill. Mar. 18, 2010)
David Headley has pled guilty to a number of charges relating to both the Mumbai attacks and a plot to attack the offices of a newspaper in Denmark. Details here: http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/March/10-ag-277.html
By Robert M. Chesney
Robert M. Chesney is Charles I. Francis Professor in Law at UT-Austin School of Law. Chesney is a national security law specialist, with a particular interest in problems associated with terrorism. Professor Chesney recently served in the Justice Department in connection with the Detainee Policy Task Force created by Executive Order 13493. He is a member of the Advisory Committee of the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Law and National Security, a senior editor for the Journal of National Security Law & Policy, an associate member of the Intelligence Science Board, a non-resident senior fellow of the Brookings Institution, a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a member of the American Law Institute. Professor Chesney has published extensively on topics ranging from detention and prosecution in the counterterrorism context to the states secrets privilege. He served previously as chair of the Section on National Security Law of the Association of American Law Schools and as editor of the National Security Law Report (published by the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Law and National Security). His upcoming projects include two books under contract with Oxford University Press, one concerning the evolution of detention law and policy and the other examining the judicial role in national security affairs.
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