Assassination nation: killings go to court.

• Author: Tuccille, J.D.
• Position: Citings - Brief article

Last year, in response to a lawsuit over death-by-drone assassinations of American citizens overseas, including Anwar AlAwlaki, his teenage son Abdulrahman Al-Awlaki, and Samir Khan, the Obama administration admitted responsibility but claimed the killings were completely legal. It also asserted that the justification for the killings, as laid out in a memorandum from the Office of Legislative Counsel for the Department of Defense (OLC-DOD), is secret and that the courts have no jurisdiction over the matter.

Not so, replied the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, in a lawsuit brought by plaintiffs including The New York Times and the American Civil Liberties Union. In an April ruling, a three-judge panel said that the Obama administration must disclose its legal rationale for the assassinations.

Writing for the panel, Judge Jon O. Newman emphasized that the Obama administration pushed the limits of the legal protections it claims for its arguments by publicly discussing the drone killings, boasting legal...