Monday, June 24, 2002

Case Against Seven Tied to Group Labeled Terrorist Is Dismissed
After deliberating for months, Judge Robert M. Takasugi of Federal District Court in Los Angeles ruled on Friday that a 1996 law passed by Congress to classify foreign groups as terrorist organizations is "unconstitutional on its face," and thus cannot be used as the basis of criminal charges.

That antiterrorism law, a cornerstone of the government's case against John Walker Lindh, the American accused of aiding a foreign terrorist group, makes it a crime to provide "material support" to any foreign organization that the State Department deems a threat to national security. But the law gives these groups "no notice and no opportunity" to contest their designation as a terrorist organization, a violation of due process, Judge Takasugi ruled.

"I will not abdicate my responsibilities as a district judge and turn a blind eye to the constitutional infirmities" of the law, Judge Takasugi wrote.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/24/national/24DISM.html

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