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.
2,973 Articles
Status of CIA Detention and Interrogation Program Declassification (updated)
A few weeks ago I posted about three contexts in which the government is engaged in declassification efforts concerning the CIA’s former detention and interrogation program. …
The Trial of Ex-Blackwater: An Overview of the Competing Stories
Opening statements in the trial of the four Blackwater members alleged to have carried out the killings in Nisour Square, Baghdad, Iraq ended in Washington D.C. this week. On Tuesday…
Lane v. Franks and the First Amendment Rights of National Security Leakers
At various points in the past, I’ve suggested that, read broadly, the Supreme Court’s 2006 decision in Garcetti v. Ceballos could sound the death knell for First…
Meshal: The Last, Best Hope for National Security Bivens Claims?
Last Friday, Judge Sullivan (D.D.C.) dismissed Meshal v. Higgenbotham, a long-outstanding Bivens suit brought by a U.S. citizen who alleged that, while travelling in the Horn…
U.S. Captures Suspected Benghazi “Ringleader” Ahmed abu Khattalah
The breaking news this morning is that the U.S. Special Ops forces have captured Ahmed Abu Khattala, a suspected ringleader of the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya. Government…
A Second Chance for the Obama Administration on “Battlefield” Contractor Liability
One of the stranger briefs filed by the Office of the Solicitor General during the Obama Administration was the brief filed in response to the Supreme Court’s request (“CVSG”)…
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court: Is Reform Needed?
With the advent of the Edward Snowden leaks commencing in June 2013, much has been written about Snowden and the United States intelligence community. This short blog post examines…
Covington White Paper on the Constitutionality of a FISA “Public Advocate”
As readers may recall from prior posts both here and at Lawfare, I’ve been a staunch supporter from the very beginning of the call for more adversarial process before the…
Eleventh Circuit Says No to Warrantless Cell Tracking, Calls Other Metadata Programs Into Question
Today, the Eleventh Circuit rejected the exceedingly common law enforcement practice of warrantlessly tracking suspects’ physical location using cell phone tower data. The opinion,…
European Court of Human Rights Rules on Amnesty and Double Jeopardy
On May 27th, the European Court of Human Rights ruled on one of the more contentious issues in the international criminal law and transitional justice sphere; namely whether political…
Could Desertion in Afghanistan Be a Capital Offense?
As the debate over last weekend’s prisoner exchange continues, one of the darker memes to emerge is the suggestion that Sergeant Bergdahl could/should be court-martialed…
Eugene Fidell on Defection, Desertion, AWOL—and Whether to Prosecute
One of the clearest thinkers on US military justice and procedure is Eugene Fidell. And one of my favorite interviewers is Robin Young on WBUR’s Here and Now. The two recently…