This course is intended to explore the history, development
and current issues in counterterrorism law. Thus, the class
shall consider issues such as the origins and expansion of
federal criminal jurisdiction and offenses from the mid-1970s
through today; the origins and constitutionality of the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA); the origins and use of the
Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA); the history of the
"Wall" between criminal and intelligence investigations; the
tension between intelligence gathering and marshaling evidence;
differences in approach that may be significant in domestic as
opposed to international terrorism matters; the tensions between
law enforcement and military approaches; and the tensions
between disruption or prevention on the one hand and prosecution
on the other.
This course will provide a timely legal/policy analysis of
the various mechanisms the United States Government is using to
combat terrorism – both domestic and international – and the
effectiveness of these actions, as well as their intrusion on
liberties of citizens and aliens, and the reactions of the
courts. Thus, the class will examine the various tools that the
Government has been employing in the fields of criminal,
intelligence, military, immigration, and civil law, and the
practical realities and difficulties involved with these means,
as well as whether there are better ways to accomplish public
safety goals. The course will look at the impact the use of
these tools has on terrorists, and, more critically, their
effect on the people of the United States, as well as those
abroad. And, the focus will be on how the federal courts (and
Congress) have reacted to the Executive Branch’s actions and the
arguments of those affected by those actions.
