Court rules against the NDAA Act (indefinite detention of Americans).
A federal judge is blocking legislation authorizing the government to indefinitely detain without trial an “individual who was part of or substantially supported” groups “engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners.”
Tuesday’s decision by a New York federal judge halts a key terror-fighting feature of the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act and is a blow to the Obama administration. The government urged U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest not to adopt a nationwide ban on the measure, saying the move would be “extraordinary” and “unwarranted” (.pdf).
But the judge, ruling in a case brought by journalists and political activists, said the law was too vague and did not provide clear guidance on whom the government could indefinitely detain.
And on Tuesday, in a follow-up ruling (.pdf), she said her blockage of the law applied nationwide, not just to the plaintiffs, who include Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Christopher Hedges and WikiLeaks activist Brigitta Jonsdottir.
The Obama administration had argued that the judge’s original decision only applied to the plaintiffs, an interpretation the judge ruled Tuesday was false.
The plaintiffs maintain the law has chilled their speech and fear their activities could subject them to military detention. “Unfortunately, there are a number of terms that are sufficiently vague that no ordinary citizen can reliably define such conduct,” the judge wrote.
Those subject to indefinite detention under the National Defense Authorization Act include:
A person who was part of or substantially supported al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners, including any person who has committed a belligerent act or has directly supported such hostilities in aid of such enemy forces.
The plaintiffs argued that the law was so vague that simply having contact with and reporting on organizations labeled as “terroristic” by the government would be grounds for indefinite detention by the government.
The act is a broad package of legislation that also includes both authorizations for military spending as well as additional, non-spending legislation. In his Dec. 31 signing statement, President Barack Obama said that “my administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens.”
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/06/indefinite-detention-law/
NDAA injunction has broad reach, judge says.
An injunction against the National Defense Authorization Act protects all, not just the named plaintiffs, a federal judge said, clarifying her order against a "constitutionally infirm" provision that would allow the military to indefinitely detain anyone it accuses of knowingly or unknowingly supporting terrorism.
U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest granted the preliminary injunction to block section 1021 of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act in May 2012. The provision permits the military to detain anyone it suspects "substantially supported" al-Qaida, the Taliban or "associated forces" until the "end of hostilities."
The suit was brought by a group calling itself the "Freedom 7," including Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges, Pentagon Papers whistle-blower Daniel Ellsberg, Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Noam Chomsky, Icelandic parliamentarian Birgitta Jonsdottir, Occupy London organizer Kai Wargalla, and Alexa O'Brien, an organizer for the New York-based activist group U.S. Day of Rage.
Forrest's May decision noted that "Hedges, Wargalla, and Jonsdottir have changed certain associational conduct, and O'Brien and Jonsdittir have avoided certain expressive conduct, because of their concerns about § 1021. Moreover, since plaintiffs continue to have their associational and expressive conduct chilled, there is both actual and continued threatened irreparable harm."
In an eight-page order Wednesday, the judge refused to reconsider the decision and rejected the government's attempt to narrowly limit application of the injunction for the named plaintiffs.
"The May 16 order found Section 1021(b)(2) constitutionally infirm on two bases: the First Amendment and the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment," Forrest wrote. "As set forth below, the law has long provided that this type of finding has provided relief to both the parties pursuing the challenge, as well as third parties not before the Court. ... Put more bluntly, the May 16 order enjoined enforcement of Section 1021(b)(2) against anyone until further action by this, or a higher, court - or by Congress."
Quoting the injunction, the judge added: "The May 16 prder stated that there is a 'strong public interest in ensuring that due process rights guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment are protected by ensuring that ordinary citizens are able to understand the scope of conduct that could subject them to indefinite military detention.'" (Emphasis in original.)
"Therefore, as it stands, a narrower remedy circumscribing the injunction would not afford sufficient protection on the current record before this court," Forrest added.
http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/06/07/47234.htm
NDAA unconstitutional: Federal judge bans Obama from indefinitely detaining Americans.
Sorry, Mr. President. A US Federal judge has clarified a decision made last month with some news sure to upset the Obama administration: the White House cannot use the NDAA to indefinitely detain American citizens.
Judge Katherine B. Forrest has answered a request made by US President Barack Obama last month to more carefully explain a May 16 ruling made in a Southern District of New York courtroom regarding the National Defense Authorization Act. Clarifying the meaning behind her injunction, Judge Forrest confirms in an eight-page memorandum opinion this week that the NDAA’s controversial provision that permits indefinite detention cannot be used on any of America's own citizens.
Last month Judge Forrest ruled in favor of a group of journalists and activists whom filed a suit challenging the constitutionality of Section 1021 of the NDAA, a defense spending bill signed into law by President Obama on New Year’s Eve. Specifically, Judge Forrest said in her injunction that the legislation contained elements that had a "chilling impact on First Amendment rights” and ruled that no, the government cannot imprison Americans over suspected ties with terrorists.
"In the face of what could be indeterminate military detention, due process requires more,” said the judge.
The Obama administration responded nine days later by asking Judge Forrest to reconsider her ruling, adding that, in the interim, the government would interpret the injunction to mean that only the few plaintiffs listed on the lawsuit would be excluded from indefinite detention. One of those named, journalist Chris Hedges, had previously said, “I have had dinner more times than I can count with people whom this country brands as terrorists … but that does not make me one.”
Responding to the White House’s demands, Judge Forrest writes in a June 6 memo, “Put more bluntly, the May 16 order enjoined enforcement of Section 1021(b)(2) against anyone until further action by this, or a higher, court — or by Congress. This order should eliminate any doubt as to the May 16 order’s scope.”
Judge Forrest does include in her ruling, however, that Americans can be indefinitely detained, but only providing that the government can link suspects directly to the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Attorney Carl Meyer represented the plaintiffs in the lawsuit and told RT last month that he expected the Obama administration to challenge Judge Forrest’s ruling, but warned that “it may not be in their best interest because there are so many people from all sides of the political spectrum opposed to this law.”
Previously, state lawmakers in both Utah and Virginia have proposed legislation that would negate provisions of the NDAA on a local level.
http://rt.com/usa/news/ndaa-judge-obama-forrest-295/