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
The Basis for the NSA’s Call-Tracking Program Has Disappeared, If It Ever Existed [Updated]
There’s a significant discrepancy, one that deserves more attention, between what the NSA told the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court five years ago about the call-tracking…
Bond v. United States and a Plain Statement Rule
The old adage, “bad facts make bad law,” threatens to reassert itself in an especially damaging fashion in Bond v. United States, a case now before the Supreme Court in which…
Observations on the Oral Argument in Bond
In light of the current efforts of the United States to ensure that even Syria, a nonparty to the treaty, strictly complies with the prohibitions of the Chemical Weapons Convention–and…
The Constitutionality of a FISA “Special Advocate”
The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) is holding a day-long hearing today on possible reforms to the NSA’s surveillance activities—especially those conducted…
International Humanitarian Law v. International Human Rights
Note: December 19 “Early Edition” Readers – click here for John Sifton’s guest post, Torture Is Still on the Table. We apologize for the error in the link.…
Live Feed of HPSCI Hearing on Potential Changes to FISA [Update: hearing now complete]
[Update (5:15 pm): The HPSCI Hearing on Potential Changes to FISA is now complete. Recorded video of the hearing testimony is provided below in two parts, due to the length of…
Hands Off Encryption! Say New Amici Briefs in Lavabit Case
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals is in the process of deciding the first legal challenge to government seizure of the master encryption keys that secure our communications with…
Latest Round of Briefing in ACLU v. Clapper “Telephony Records Program” Case
The ACLU and the Government filed their reply briefs today on their respective motions in the Section 215 “Telephony Records Program” litigation in the Southern District…
Ghailani: Constitutional “Cross-Ruffing,” and Why I Worry…
I’ve now had a chance to read yesterday’s Second Circuit decision in Ghailani, affirming the conviction of the one terrorism suspect transferred from Guantánamo to…
Second Circuit Affirms Ghailani’s Conviction and Sentence
This morning’s Second Circuit decision unanimously affirming the conviction and sentence of Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani is not surprising, but it may well be significant, especially…
The Charles Taylor Appeal & The Scope of Accomplice Liability
I earlier flagged the release of the Charles Taylor appeals judgment. This post deconstructs the opinion more closely in light of the Perišić precedent and also addresses the…
A Federal Shield Law is Needed to Protect Confidential Sources and the Public’s Right to Know: A Reply to David Pozen
[The post below is part of an exchange between Dave Pozen and Sophia Cope on media shield laws and the recently proposed Free Flow of Information Act. Don’t miss Dave’s…