Saturday, January 31, 2015

Slow Saturday Special: Federal Judge Wants to Fly

Problem is he can't find out if he's on the no-fly list:

"No-fly list might be unlawful, judge says" by Matthew Barakat, Associated Press  January 31, 2015

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A federal judge expressed skepticism Friday about the constitutionality of the government’s no-fly list, suggesting that those who find themselves on it should be allowed a meaningful opportunity to clear their names.

The lawsuit challenging the no-fly list, filed by Alexandria resident Gulet Mohamed, has been winding its way through federal court for four years, and US District Judge Anthony Trenga has consistently rejected government efforts to get the suit tossed out.

Friday’s hearing, though, added this twist: It was held one day after the FBI put Mohamed’s older brother on its list of most wanted terrorists.

The FBI says Liban Mohamed was living in Virginia until 2012 but left for east Africa. They say he recruited for the Shabab terror group in Somalia and have charged him with providing material support to Al Qaeda and Al Shabab.

Gulet Mohamed was 19 when he filed his challenge to the no-fly list in 2011. He said he was denied the right to return from Kuwait, and was beaten at the behest of US authorities who questioned his travels to Somalia and Yemen. Mohamed, who was allowed to return to the United States after he filed his suit, said he traveled to those countries to visit extended family and learn Arabic.

Gadeir Abbas, Gulet Mohamed’s lawyer in the no-fly case, said the timing of the FBI’s announcement — as well as unsealing Liban Mohamed’s arrest warrant in federal court, which was issued 11 months ago — was meant to pressure a judge who has been sympathetic to his client’s argument.

He's a brave judge, and it says much that even they are getting sick of tyranny.

Joshua Stueve, spokesman for the US attorney’s office in Alexandria, declined to comment on the allegation.

The judge did not address Liban Mohamed’s situation, but aggressively questioned the government. He suggested that the executive branch could be required to submit its case for placing a person on the list to a magistrate for review. The government is revising its rules to give those on the list some notice of why they are on it, said Justice Department attorney Joseph Folio.

Folio also sought to have the case dismissed by arguing that the government cannot defend itself without disclosing state secrets. He said Attorney General Eric Holder made the decision to invoke this privilege.

Not only does that sound so Soviet, it begs the question what are they hiding?

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Related: Slow Saturday Special: Judge For Yourself 

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