Recordingsaudio or video
Current Term2018
DocumentsLots of stuff here
DiscussionComment
ContactOur Email
Law 790 (37298)
Counterterrorism and the Law
Teaching Professor William C. Snyder
NEXT: Final examination on 5/3/2018, 1:00 PM, Room 352, closed book w/ supplement.
This three-credit course is about the law and legal policy used to counter terrorism, not about its history, ideology, or grand strategies. As the authors of our textbook (including our own Professor William Banks) explain, the course is designed to help you "reflect intensively on how to protect national security under the rule of law; whether civil rights and civil liberties must be traded for security, and, if so, how much; and what roles each of the three branches of government should play in making these decisions and trade-offs." Special attention will be paid to the dynamic quality of counterterrorism law – that is, most classes will begin with a review of developments since last we met. Included specific topics can be found in the Assignments section, below. There are no prerequisites for enrollment.
Required Reading:
Please see "About" page.
Assignments:
The reading assignments are not long. Yet, the material is fairly challenging, and we may not be able to keep the pace outlined here. Thus, these assignments are subject to change. If the class as a group is not comfortable with its understanding of a section, we will spend extra time upon it..
Unless otherwise indicated, assigned pages are from Dycus, Banks & Raven-Hansen, Counterterrorism Law 3rd. (Wolters Kluwer). Significant portions of the textbook have been supplanted by the 2017-2018 Supplement. Always consult the Supplement before investing time in reading the main text.
Part I. Introduction
Defining Terrorism and Counterterrorism
Part II. Authorities and Limits in the War on Terrorists
1/23/18 [class did not meet as scheduled on 1/22/18]
Extraterritorial Reach of U.S. Law
Extra resources (not assigned):
Handout on long-arm jurisdiction.
Handout on Johnson v. Eisentrager.
Skeletal outline for class.
Ch. 2.
plus Supp.10-11.
Waging War on Terrorists
entire ICJ opinion in Nicaragua v. United States (all 277 pages!)
International Humanitarian Law (jus in bello)
Ch. 4, pp. 101-123 only, plus Supp. 11.
Targeting Terrorists
Page from 2015 course website on targeted killing (all but one links still good; use browser "back" button to return here.)
Please read Ch. 5, plus Supplement plus prepare in-class simulation
Part III. Detecting and Preventing Terrorism
Introducing Intelligence Operations
April 4, 2017, Presidential Memorandum-4 [HSPM-4], Organization of the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council, and Subcommittees
Intelligence Community Legal Reference Book, summer 2016 [1013 pages]
The National Intelligence Strategy of the United States of America 2014.
U.S. National Intelligence - An Overview 2013.
plus Supp. 36-38
The Fourth Amendment and Counterterrorism
plus Supp.38
Congressional Authority for Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
2/19 & 20/18
Programmatic Electronic Surveillance for Foreign Intelligence
2/26-27/19
Third-Party Records – Targeted Collection
Bulk Collection and Data Mining
Screening for Security
Part IV. Detaining Terrorist Suspects
Habeas Corpus: The Structure of the Suspension Clause
- Merryman and Milligan
[Class did not meet as scheduled on 3/20/18.]
Habeas Corpus: The Scope of the Suspension Clause
Military Detention of U.S. Persons
Military Detention of Non-U.S. Persons
[pp.551-582, 32 pages]
Assignment gudiance: If you need to triage, focus on the material witness statute, 18 U.S.C. §3144, and just skim Turkmen v. Hasty (p. 590). My thinking is that Immigration Law is vast, the subject of another course in our curriculum, and extends far beyond counterterrorism detainees, so don't get bogged down in its details. Besides, any court decision that includes a section entitled "Final Thoughts" has lots of dicta.
Part V. Interrogating Terrorist Suspects
Interrogating Terrorist Suspects
Case Study: Coercive Interrogation by U.S. Forces After 9/11
Supplemental materials:
Memorandum for the Commander, US Southern Command, Counter-Resistance Techniques in the War on Terrorism
Log of interrogation
U.S. government reply, mentioned at the top of page 652.
OLC Opinion described as "extensive analysis" in middle of page 650.
[pp. 647-680, 34 pages]
Part VI. Prosecuting Threats to National Security
4/16 starting at noon and combined w/ Lesson 22
Criminalizing Terrorism and Material Support
The Procedural Path to Terrorism Trials
Secret Evidence in Criminal Trials
Full text of Rule 16 and CIPA.
CIPA chart for students.
Trial by Military Commission
- Quirin
Part VII. Homeland Security
The Military's Domestic Role
Part VIII. Noncriminal Sanctions Against Terrorists and Their Sponsors
Public Sanctions Against Terrorists and Their Sponsors
Suing Terrorists and Their Sponsors
Does Cyberspace Change Counterterrorism Law and Policy?
- Part I on examination procedures.
EXAM – in class, closed book with statutory supplement. 5/3/2018 LAW 790-M001 Counterterrorism and the Law, 1:00 PM in Room 352.
[old 2015 syllabus]
Updated 28-Apr-2018 11:31
Final examination on 5/3/2018, 1:00 PM, Room 352.
All handouts through Spring Break are up to date.
Professor Snyder
Admin. Assistant
Copyright © 2017 William C. Snyder