ACLU Sues DOJ to See 'Targeted Killing' Legal Justification Memos
The American Civil Liberties Union has sued to compel the Justice Department release of memos disclosing the legal justification for strikes that have killed U.S. citizens abroad.
A lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court Wednesday follows the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-Yemeni citizen and suspected al-Qaida militant who was killed in a drone strike last September, Reuters reports.
Reuters reports that American militants like al-Awlaki and American Samir Khan, who was also killed in the drone attack, are placed on a kill or capture list by a secretive panel of senior U.S. government officials. There are no public records of the panel’s operations.
The ACLU filed suit after requests under the Freedom of Information Act were denied. A similar suit was filed in December by the New York Times.
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WAR POWERS
- • Constitutional Dilemma: The Power to Declare War Is Deeply Rooted in American History by Richard Brust
- • War Powers Belong to the President by John Yoo
- • Only Congress Can Declare War by Louis Fisher
TARGETED KILLINGS
- • Uneasy Targets: How Justifying the Killing of Terrorists Has Become a Major Policy Debate by Richard Brust
- • Targeted Killing Is Lawful If Conducted in Accordance with the Rule of Law by Amos N. Guiora and Monica Hakimi
CYBERWARFARE
- • Cyberattacks: Computer Warfare Looms as Next Big Conflict in International Law by Richard Brust
- • What Is the Role of Lawyers in Cyberwarfare? by Stewart A. Baker and Charles J. Dunlap Jr.
COERCED INTERROGATIONS
- • Probing Questions: Experts Debate the Need to Create Exceptions to Rules on Coerced Confessions by Richard Brust
- • Should We Create Exceptions to Rules Regarding Coerced Interrogation of Terrorism Suspects? by Norman Abrams and Christopher Slobogin
DOMESTIC TERRORISM
- • Insider Threats: Experts Try to Balance the Constitution with Law Enforcement to Find Terrorists by Richard Brust
- • The Threat from Within: What Is the Scope of Homegrown Terrorism? by Gordon Lederman and Kate Martin
THIRD-PARTY DOCTRINE
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- • The Data Question: Should the Third-Party Records Doctrine Be Revisited? by Orin Kerr and Greg Nojeim
NATIONAL SECURITY LETTERS
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- • National Security Letters: Building Blocks for Investigations or Intrusive Tools? Michael German and Michelle Richardson, and Valerie Caproni and Steven Siegel
DETENTION POLICY
- • Detention Dilemma: As D.C. Circuit Considers Guantanamo Inmates, Can Judicial Review Harm Military? by Richard Brust
- • Detention Policies: What Role for Judicial Review? by Stephen I. Vladeck and Greg Jacob
