Judge tosses lawsuit over drone deaths of Americans
By JOSH GERSTEIN | Politico.com
4/4/14 6:42 PM EDT
Representatives of three Americans killed in drone strikes in Yemen in 2011—including Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leader Anwar Al-Awlaki—cannot pursue a lawsuit alleging that the killings violated their constitutional rights, a federal judge ruled Friday.
U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer dismissed a suit brought on behalf of Al-Awlaki, his 16-year-old son Abdulrahman and alleged AQAP propagandist Samir Khan. Civil liberties groups filed the litigation on behalf of family members of the dead Americans, arguing that they were unconstitutionally deprived of life without due process of law and that the Obama Administration illegally maintained a so-called "kill list" of Americans targeted for death at the hands of U.S. government operations overseas.
"The persons holding the jobs of the named Defendants must be trusted and expected to act in accordance with the U.S. Constitution when they intentionally target a U.S. citizen abroad at the direction of the President and with the concurrence of Congress. They cannot be held personally responsible in monetary damages for conducting war," Collyer wrote.
In a flight of legal nuance, Collyer rejected the Obama Administration's arguments that she lacked authority to delve into the case because it presented a "political question" not suited to the courts. But she ultimately concluded that the elder Al-Awlaki's claim should not go forward because it would require the courts to recognize a new remedy for Americans killed in U.S. government action abroad and at least three appeals courts have indicated it is inadvisable for judges to allow claims of that sort without explicit authorization from Congress.
(More here.)
4/4/14 6:42 PM EDT
Representatives of three Americans killed in drone strikes in Yemen in 2011—including Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leader Anwar Al-Awlaki—cannot pursue a lawsuit alleging that the killings violated their constitutional rights, a federal judge ruled Friday.
U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer dismissed a suit brought on behalf of Al-Awlaki, his 16-year-old son Abdulrahman and alleged AQAP propagandist Samir Khan. Civil liberties groups filed the litigation on behalf of family members of the dead Americans, arguing that they were unconstitutionally deprived of life without due process of law and that the Obama Administration illegally maintained a so-called "kill list" of Americans targeted for death at the hands of U.S. government operations overseas.
"The persons holding the jobs of the named Defendants must be trusted and expected to act in accordance with the U.S. Constitution when they intentionally target a U.S. citizen abroad at the direction of the President and with the concurrence of Congress. They cannot be held personally responsible in monetary damages for conducting war," Collyer wrote.
In a flight of legal nuance, Collyer rejected the Obama Administration's arguments that she lacked authority to delve into the case because it presented a "political question" not suited to the courts. But she ultimately concluded that the elder Al-Awlaki's claim should not go forward because it would require the courts to recognize a new remedy for Americans killed in U.S. government action abroad and at least three appeals courts have indicated it is inadvisable for judges to allow claims of that sort without explicit authorization from Congress.
(More here.)
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