Courts & Litigation
Just Security’s expert authors offer analysis and informational resources on key litigation impacting national security, rights, democracy, and the rule of law. Our content spans domestic and international litigation, from cases at the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, and other international and regional tribunals, to those in U.S. courts involving executive branch actions, transnational litigation, and more.
2,859 Articles
FISC Approves Application to Renew Telephony Metadata Program [UPDATED]
Today, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence declassified and announced that the FISC has approved the government’s application to renew the telephony metadata…
Prediction: Fourth Amendment Evolves in 2014
When should courts follow legal precedent and when should the law change? This is a debate that underlies this month’s contrary decisions about the constitutionality of government…
Very Summary Account of Judge Pauley’s Opinion on the 215 Telephony Metadata Program
I’ll defer to others for substantive analysis of Judge Pauley’s opinion. To facilitate discussion, however, here is a very abbreviated roadmap of his holdings, based…
Judge Pauley (SDNY) Rules NSA Bulk Telephony Metadata Program is Constitutional
Earlier this month, Judge Leon (D.D.C.) issued a ruling enjoining the NSA metadata program under Section 215 (and then staying his decision pending appeal), noting that the…
Two Quick Reflections on Why al Maqaleh III Matters
Over at Lawfare, Raffaela Wakeman already flagged today’s (unsurprising) D.C. Circuit decision in al Maqaleh v. Hagel, once again dismissing for lack of jurisdiction appeals…
Belhaj v. Straw: UK complicity in US rendition and torture
This morning the United Kingdom’s High Court issued its judgment in a case brought by Abdel-Hakim Belhaj and his wife Fatima Boudchar against the UK’s government and intelligence…
More Breaking News: Adjournment Sought for the Kenyatta Proceedings
We’ve covered in the past (here, here and here) the legal and extra-legal efforts by Kenya and the Kenyan defendants before the ICC to get their case stayed or dismissed.…
Edward Snowden’s Vindication? All Three Branches Considering NSA Reform
How things change in a single week. Just last week, I was taping a debate on Edward Snowden and the NSA with, among others, General Michael Hayden, former head of the NSA. …
9/11 Case Stalls as Prosecution Moves to Have Detainee’s Competency to Stand Trial Examined [UPDATED]
In quite an unexpected turn of events in the 9/11 case pre-trial motions hearing, this morning’s session came to a screeching stop almost as soon as it started. As I mentioned…
Updates from Today’s 9/11 Case Hearings Before the Military Commission
Today was the second public session of this week’s pre-trial motion hearings in the 9/11 case before the military commission in Guantanamo Bay. As I am sure many readers…
Judge Pohl’s 9/11 Trial Order on the Convention Against Torture and the Accused’s “Observations and Experiences”
On Monday, Thomas reported that Judge Pohl, in the 9/11 military commissions case (United States v. Mohammed et al.), had reportedly “issued several orders lifting the classifying…
What We Don’t Know About Irek Hamidullan
This Washington Post story reports that “[t]he Obama administration is actively considering the use of a military commission in the United States to try a Russian who was…