Federal Courts
190 Articles
Update on Apple’s Compelled-Decryption Case
Last week, we wrote about an order from a federal magistrate judge in New York that questioned the government’s ability, under an ancient federal law called the All Writs Act,…
Korematsu’s Demise?
This post is the latest installment of our “Monday Reflections” feature, in which a different Just Security editor examines the big stories from the previous week or looks…
What the Third Circuit Said in Hassan v. City of New York
In Hassan v. City of New York, the Third Circuit yesterday emphatically overturned a New Jersey district court, which had dismissed a challenge to the New York City Police Department’s…
Lifting the Gag Order on One NSL is Good, But It’s Just a Start
Earlier this week, the public got a look at that rare occurrence in a national security case: a court lifting a gag on the recipient of a surveillance request. On August 28, Judge…
Will Filartiga Survive?
On September 16, the Fourth Circuit will hear oral argument in Warfaa v. Ali, a case brought by the Center for Justice and Accountability under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) and…
The Microsoft Warrant Case: Response #2 to Orin Kerr
Over at the Volokh Conspiracy, Orin Kerr responds, point by point, to my disagreement with his take on the Microsoft warrant case. I thank Kerr for continuing the conversation,…
The Microsoft Warrant Case: A Response to Orin Kerr
With less than a week before the Second Circuit considers the dispute between Microsoft and the government over emails stored in Ireland (an issue I have blogged about here, here,…
Better Never Than Late? The D.C. Circuit’s Problematic Standing Holding in Klayman
This morning, nearly 10 months after it was argued, the D.C. Circuit finally handed down its decision in Obama v. Klayman—the government’s appeal of Judge Leon’s December…
Warrantless Phone Tracking: The Fourth Amendment and Circuit Splits
Last week, a divided three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit ruled in United States v. Graham that the government must obtain a warrant to obtain from a phone user’s historical…
The Government’s Overstated Rehearing Petition in al Bahlul
I wasn’t originally planning to blog about the petition for rehearing en banc filed by the government on Monday in al Bahlul v. United States, challenging the three-judge…
CIA and OLC Must Release More “Secret” Documents on Aulaqi Drone Strike
On Thursday, a federal district court in New York issued its latest ruling in the ACLU’s long-running Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation seeking the legal and factual…
Abu Ghraib and the Perversion of the Political Question Doctrine
I’ve written extensively about the important and complex legal questions raised by state-law tort suits against private military contractors, many of which have arisen in…