Federal Judiciary

U.S. files appeal on terrorism support

By Akin Gump Supreme Court Practice Group

The Obama Administration asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to revive key parts of a federal law, nullified by a federal appeals court, that make it a crime to provide support to foreign groups deemed to be terrorists.  The Supreme Court turned down an earlier government appeal in the case in 2001, but Congress changed the law in the meantime, and key parts of that, too, have now been nullified.

The petition filed Wednesday is Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, et al.  It has not yet been assigned a docket number.  (The petition, with the Circuit Court and District Court opinions and the statute attached as appendices, can be downloaded here.  It is a large file.)

In the latest decision in the case, the Ninth Circuit Court in late 2007 found key provisions of the terrorism support law to be unconstitutionally vague, and blocked their enforcement.  Review by the Justices is now more important, the new petition said, because the law “is a vital part of the Nation’s efforts to fight international terrorism.”

Struck down by the lower court were provisions that defined as support such things as training, expert advice or assistance, and service.  “Each of thsoe terms has an established meaning and is readily understandable by persons of ordinary intelligence,” the petition argued.

Challenging the law was a Los Angeles-based group, Humanitarian Law Project, described as a human rights advocacy organization, and its president.  Their lawyers said the group had been providing human rights advocacy training to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party — or, PKK, the main Kurish political party in Turkey.  Once the PKK was designated by the State Department as a terrorist group, the Humanitarian Law group stopped its training.  The group and others sued, seeking the chance to renew aid to what the organizations said werelawful, nonviolent activities overseas.

Full post as published by SCOTUSBLOG on June 04, 2009 (boomark / email).