Ninth Circuit Strikes Down Material Support Provisions of Counter-Terrorism Laws
On Monday, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit unanimously struck down, on vagueness grounds, portions of a counter-terrorism law that criminalize the provision of material support for terrorist organizations. The 2004 amendments to Title III of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 criminalize training designated terrorist organizations in "specific skill[s]," whereas sharing "general knowledge" is exempt.
The plaintiff organizations sought to train members of the Kurdish Workers Party in Turkey and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka in peaceful conflict resolution and advocacy, prompting Shayana Kadidal of the Center for Constitutional Rights to argue that "[t]his statute essentially allows for guilt by association."
According to Judge Harry Pregerson, "We find it highly unlikely that a person of ordinary intelligence would know whether, when teaching someone to petition international bodies for tsunami-related aid, one is imparting a 'specific skill' or 'general knowledge.' "
The plaintiff organizations sought to train members of the Kurdish Workers Party in Turkey and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka in peaceful conflict resolution and advocacy, prompting Shayana Kadidal of the Center for Constitutional Rights to argue that "[t]his statute essentially allows for guilt by association."
According to Judge Harry Pregerson, "We find it highly unlikely that a person of ordinary intelligence would know whether, when teaching someone to petition international bodies for tsunami-related aid, one is imparting a 'specific skill' or 'general knowledge.' "
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