Excerpt
Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. Government began a campaign of stepped-up antiterrorism investigations both abroad and in the United States. As part of this effort, Federal prosecutors relied on U.S. Code Section 3144, which gave them the power to arrest and detain individuals whom they considered to be material witnesses to a crime.
One such arrest took place on March 16, 2003, when Abdullah al-Kidd was detained shortly before he boarded a flight from Dulles Airport in Virginia to Saudi Arabia, where he was to enroll at a university. Al-Kidd, a native-born U.S. citizen who converted …
In This Issue
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Material Witnesses
Overview of Federal Law
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Before the Court
The Justices Weigh in on Material-Witness Detentions
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Inside the Court
Free Speech, School Choice, Juvenile Rights, and Immigration on the Docket in 2011
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Snyder v. Phelps
The Court Upholds the Right to Protest at Military Funerals
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Lower Court Holding in al-Kidd v. Ashcroft
Decision of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
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Material-Witness Detentions
The U.S. Post-September 11 Antiterrorism Policy
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Pro & Con
Can Prosecutors Use the Federal Material-Witness Statute to Detain Suspects While Gathering More Evidence to Use Against Them?
