Background of Terrorist Trials in the United States
Terrorism occupies a unique liminal position, somewhere between acts of war and criminal acts. Because of this, jurisdiction, the rights of terrorist suspects, and other ethical and legal conundrums have lent themselves to an inconsistent and ambiguous terrorist trial system in the United States. Historically, as now, terrorist trials in the United States have taken place in several different jurisdictions, and prosecutorial discretion can be based on factors like circumstantial and situational variables or on political whim. Whether or not the terrorist incident was allegedly perpetrated by a domestic or an international group may also have a bearing on how a terrorist trial is conducted. Some terrorist trials have taken place in civilian courts and others in military courts, neither of which seem ideally suited to address the complex issues associated with terrorism.
Since September 11, the federal government expanded its own powers to detail terrorist suspects indefinitely without a trial, overriding Constitutional law. One of the reasons why terrorist trials are so inconsistent and ambiguous is because of disagreements over the efficacy, ethics, legality, and desirability of the power to refuse suspects the rights otherwise bestowed upon the accused. As Bennett & Litt (2009) point out, “the government’s legal, practical and moral authority to detain suspected terrorists without trial remains a subject of fierce debate,” (p.1). The fact that many terrorist suspects are not American citizens has facilitated the federal government’s ability to detain suspects indefinitely without a trial, ostensibly for “preventative” purposes proclaiming national security (Bennett & Litt, 2009, p. 1). However, Constitutional law is generally interpreted in ways that extend protections like Miranda rights to non-citizens of the United States (“Myth v. Fact: Trying Terror Suspects in Federal Courts,” 2018). Likewise, the United States has maintained offshore detention facilities, most notably the one at Guantanamo Bay, in order to conveniently and credibly circumvent the pesky legal constraints that would otherwise apply if detention centers sat more squarely on American soil even though technically such offshore locations count as American soil.
Where Should Terrorist Suspects Be Tried?
Currently, there is no single standard by which terrorist suspects are tried and prosecuted. Terrorist suspects can be processed through a civilian federal court system, or through the military court system involving a tribunal. Even within this bifurcated...
(Turner and Schulhofer, 2005) IV. Proposed Remedy It was reported in the Washington Post July 27th 2008 edition that "modern realities strongly argue against using the federal courts as the exclusive arena to hold or try all terrorism suspects. The first priority of a president must be to protect the country from attack. The president must have the legal flexibility to detain those against whom there is credible, actionable intelligence but
Terrorism Final Examination Questions #1, #3, & #5 Bjorgo discusses levels of causation in the introduction of his book. These include structural causes, facilitator (or accelerator) causes, triggering causes, and motivational causes. At a macro level, how does each of these contribute to terrorism? In other words, concentrate on each of these types of causal factors at a general level (e.g. all kinds of structural causes), instead of focusing on individual causes
Fundamentally, the insurgents are fighting an enemy with superior weaponry, technology, and resources, so therefore, must seek avenues to mitigate these disadvantages. In other words, insurgent forces out vastly outdone in the traditional aspects of warfare, so they are forced to resort to unconventional modes of attack. Early in his book, the Army and Vietnam, Krepinevich provides the broad game plan an insurgent force must follow to achieve final victory: As
psychological process that leads to terrorism. The author achieves this through using a metaphor that narrows down a staircase that leads to the act of terrorism at the top of a building. This staircase usually leads to higher and higher floors, one remaining on a particular floor is dependent on doors, and spaces, which the person imagines, are going to open to them on that particular floor. This staircase
5 May, 2005. Retrieved at http://news.public.findlaw.com/ap/o/51/05-06-2005/ca790022a837290c.html. Accessed on 11 May, 2005 Civil liberties groups unite against a surveillance society. 21 April, 2005. Retrieved at http://www.out-law.com/php/page.php?page_id=civillibertiesgrou1114086814&area=newsAccessed on 11 May, 2005 First Amendment History. 5 January, 2005. Retrieved at http://www.illinoisfirstamendmentcenter.com/Main.asp?SectionID=16&SubSectionID=30&ArticleID=49Accessed on 11 May, 2005 In ACLU Case, Federal Court Strikes Down Patriot Act Surveillance Power as Unconstitutional. September 29, 2004. Retrieved at http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=16603&c=282Accessed on 11 May, 2005 Ramasastry, Anita. Reform the Patriot Act to ensure
Powers and Rights of the Constitution INSTITUTIONAL POWER: The Constitution gives the federal government the right to form a military service, including what is now the National Guard (Army National Guard, 2011), though it does so in cooperation with the states and localities to serve their interests as well. This section is important for a number of reasons, including the fact that it reinforces the differences between the state and
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