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.
2,853 Articles

Making Sense of the NSA Metadata Collection Program and the “Administrative Search” Doctrine
As most people on the planet now know, the National Security Agency obtains detailed records of the “metadata” of essentially every call – domestic and international –…

Al Bahlul Argument Post-Mortem
If one thing was clear from this morning’s oral argument before the en banc D.C. Circuit in al-Bahlul v. United States, it was the consistent skepticism from at least five…

Debate (Round 2): Metadata and the Fourth Amendment – A Response
This post is one in a series of posts from Just Security‘s Jennifer Granick and Guest Author Orin Kerr debating the constitutionality of the NSA’s telephony metadata…

Debate (Round 2): Metadata and the Fourth Amendment
This post is one in a series of posts from Just Security‘s Jennifer Granick and Guest Author Orin Kerr debating the constitutionality of the NSA’s telephony metadata…

The Other, Lurking Constitutional Question in al-Bahlul
I would add only one thing to Jen’s thorough summary of the al-Bahlul argument next Monday, about something she references at the very end of her post: Besides ex post…

Preview — Al Bahlul in the D.C. Circuit: The Fate of Military Commissions at Guantánamo
On Monday, September 30, the D.C. Circuit, sitting en banc, will hear argument in al Bahlul v. United States – a case definitely worth watching. The immediate question is whether…

Charles Taylor Verdict Today: New Standard of Liability for Aid to Rebel Forces?
The Appeals Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) today unanimously upheld the conviction and 50-year sentence of former Liberian President Charles Taylor for aiding…

Why David Miranda’s Case Is Harder Than It Looks
The detention of David Miranda, the partner of Guardian newspaper journalist Glenn Greenwald, has sparked widespread controversy and international press coverage (including the…

Unprivileged Does Not Mean Prohibited
In his latest post, Ryan takes issue with those who argue that it would violate international law for a state civilian agency, such as the CIA, to use force in an armed conflict. …

Are Journalists in Danger of Prosecution for Espionage?
Following up on Steve’s post, and in timely anticipation of Just Security’s event this afternoon, I was struck by Gabriel Schoenfeld’s somewhat fevered suggestion that the…

The Espionage Act and the Press: A Short Response to Gabe Schoenfeld
In his provocative guest post (which should, if nothing else, provide that much more of a reason to check out tomorrow’s Just Security launch event), Gabe Schoenfeld asks…

The Espionage Act and National Security Reporting
Liberals and conservatives seem to agree that the Obama administration has been waging a “war against the press.” On the Left, we have Salon and the Huffington Post condemning,…