Counterterrorism Law

Law 790 (41309)
Counterterrorism and the Law
Syracuse University College of Law
Visiting Assistant Professor William C. Snyder
Spring 2012

Next: For Wednesday, 2/8/12, Lesson 6, please read Chapter 5.

Course Description:

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.

I am willing to adjust the syllabus to address the needs and interests of students in the course.

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.  We also make a point of following current developments, which are tracked on our course blog at www.nationalsecuritylaw.info.

Unless otherwise indicated, assigned pages are from Dycus, Banks & Raven-Hansen, Counterterrorism Law 2d. (Aspen 2012).

Lesson

Topic

Assignment

 

Part I. Introduction

1
1/18/12

Defining Terrorism and Counterterrorism
Supplemental readings:

Ch. 1.

 

Part II. Authorities and Limits in the War on Terrorists

2
1/19/12

Terrorism and International Humanitarian Law

Supplemental:

  • McNeal, Gregory S., The U.S. Practice of Collateral Damage Estimation and Mitigation (November 9, 2011). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1819583 or doi:10.2139/ssrn.1819583 or here.

Ch. 2.

3
1/25/12

Waging War on Terrorists

Supplemental reading:

  • Audio file of Lesson 3 on 1/25/12.
  • Declarations of War and Authorizations for the Use of Military Force: Historical Background and Legal Implications, Congressional Research ServiceReport RL31133 (March 17, 2011 version, March 8, 2007 version).

Ch. 3.
(PDF)

4
1/30/12

5
2/6/12

Targeting Terrorists

Supplemental material:

  • Fact sheet on Predator.
  • Testimony of William C. Banks before the Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, United States House of Representatives, on "Rise of the Drones," 4/28/10.
  • Page of this site on targeted killing.
  • Audio file of Lesson 4 on 1/30/12.

4

(PDF)

 

Part III. Detecting and Preventing Terrorism

Lesson
6

Organizing for Intelligence Collection

Chapter
5

7

The Fourth Amendment and Counterterrorism

6

8

Congressional Authority for Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
 Supplemental reading:

  

7

9

Programmatic Electronic Surveillance for Foreign Intelligence  

8

10

Third-Party Records and Data Mining
Supplemental Reading:

9
 

Screening for Security

10
 

Surveilance Abroad

11
 

Part IV. Detaining Terrorist Suspects

 

Preventive Detention by Civil Authorities 

12
 

The Great Writ: Habeas Corpus Before 9/11

13
 

The Great Writ: Habeas Corpus After 9/11

14
 

Military Detention Before 9/11

15
 

Military Detention After 9/11

16

Part V. Interrogating Terrorist Suspects

 

Interrogating Terrorist Suspects

17
 

Case Study: Coercive Interrogation by U.S. Forces After 9/11

18
 

Extraordinary Rendition  

19
 

Part VI. Prosecuting Threats to National Security

 

Criminalizing Terrorism and Material Support

20
 

Prosecuting Accused Terrorists and Their Supporters in Criminal Courts
  

21
 

Trial by Military Commission
Supplemental readings:

22

Part VII. Homeland Security
 

Homeland Security

23
 

The Military’s Domestic Role
  

24
 

Part VIII. Noncriminal Sanctions Against Terrorists and Their Sponsors

 

Public Sanctions Against Terrorists and Their Sponsors

25
 

Suing Terrorists and Their Sponsors
Supplemental reading:

  • CRS report "Suits Against Terrorist States by Victims of Terrorism, Updated May 1, 2008.

26
 

Does Cyberspace Change Counterterrorism Law and Policy?

Handout
 

Exam review

 

5/?/12

EXAM – in class, closed book with statutory supplement.

 

 

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