Humanitarian Law Project v. Mukasey, 552 F.3d 916 (9th Cir. 2009)
Holding
The federal government may prohibit providing non-violent material support for terrorist organizations, including legal services and advice, without violating the free speech clause of the First Amendment. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and remanded.
The Supreme Court ruled against the Humanitarian Law Project, which sought to help the Kurdistan Workers' Party in Turkey and Sri Lanka's Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam learn how to resolve conflicts peacefully.[3] It concluded that the US Congress had intended to prevent aid to such groups, even for the purpose of facilitating peace negotiations or United Nations processes because that assistance fit the law's definition of material aid as "training," "expert advice or assistance," "service," and "personnel." The finding was based on the principle that any assistance could help to "legitimate" the terrorist organization and free up its resources for terrorist activities.[4]
The court noted that the proposed actions of the Humanitarian Law Project were general and "entirely hypothetical" and implied that a post-enforcement challenge to the application of the "material support" provisions was not prevented.
Former President Jimmy Carter criticized the decision and argued:
"The 'material support law' – which is aimed at putting an end to terrorism – actually threatens The Carter Center's work and the work of many other peacemaking organizations that must interact directly with groups that have engaged in violence. The vague language of the law leaves us wondering if we will be prosecuted for our work to promote peace and freedom."[5]
Élisabeth Decrey Warner, the president of the Swiss NGOGeneva Call, also expressed her disapproval by stating, "Civilians caught in the middle of conflicts and hoping for peace will suffer from this decision. How can you start peace talks or negotiations if you don't have the right to speak to both parties?"[6]
In January 2011, David D. Cole, a professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center, who argued the case for the Humanitarian Law Project, commented on developments since the decision. He noted that several prominent former officeholders, including Rudolph Giuliani and Tom Ridge, had spoken in support of the People's Mujahedin of Iran, an Iranian opposition group designated by the United States as a terrorist organization.[7] He stated that he supported their right to speak but that even nonviolent advocacy, such as urging a designation as "terrorist" to be revoked, was illegal under the Supreme Court decision. He also pointed to exemptions granted under the rubric of "humanitarian aid" that turned out to include products like cigarettes and chewing gum.[7] He stated, "Under current law, it seems, the right to make profits is more sacrosanct than the right to petition for peace, and the need to placate American businesses more compelling than the need to provide food and shelter to earthquake victims and war refugees."[7]
The linguist Noam Chomsky criticized[8] the decision as an issue of freedom of speech and stated that it was "the first major attack on freedom of speech in the United States since the notorious Smith Act back around 1940."[9] He also stated that it had troubling legal implications since Humanitarian Law Project gave out advice to PKK to urge the group to pursue nonviolence.[10]
The magazine Mother Jones stated that "the Supreme Court ruled that even protected speech can be a criminal act if it occurs at the direction of a terrorist organization." It went on to say that people "could be convicted of materially supporting terrorism merely for translating a document or putting an extremist video online, depending on [their] intentions."[11]
In September 2010, the FBI raided activists in Minneapolis and Chicago; seized computers, cellphones and files; and issued subpoenas to some targeted individuals to appear before a federal grand jury. The FBI agents were seeking evidence of ties to groups deemed by the US government to be foreign terrorist organizations, including the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.[12][13] Attorneys linked the raids to the Holder decision.[14][15]
^Unknown author, (Aug 4, 2012) Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, retrieved August 7, 2012
^"Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, 561 U.S. 1 (2010)". Justia. [T]he Court found that a restriction on political speech was valid under strict scrutiny for the first time in its history.
^Adam Liptak, Court Affirms Ban on Aiding Groups Tied to Terror, The New York Times, June 21, 2010.
^Liptak, Adam (February 23, 2010). "Before the Supreme Court, First Amendment and Aid to Terrorists". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
^American Civil Liberties Union (June 21, 2010). "Supreme Court Rules "Material Support" Law Can Stand". Retrieved September 26, 2010.
^ abMarcus Berry (July 14, 2010). . Archived from the original on July 16, 2010. Retrieved September 26, 2010..
^Noam Chomsky Videos (April 20, 2014), Noam Chomsky on "Freedom of Speech and Anti Fascism", retrieved May 16, 2017
^Chomsky, Noam. "Chomsky on Obama vs. Free Speech". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021.
^"Democracy Uprising" in the U.S.A.?: Noam Chomsky on Wisconsin's Resistance to Assault on Public Sector, the Obama-Sanctioned Crackdown on Activists, and the Distorted Legacy of Ronald Reagan. Democracy Now!, February 17, 2011
^Adam Serwer, Does Posting Jihadist Material Make Tarek Mehanna a Terrorist?, Mother Jones, December 16, 2011.
^Colin Moynihan, F.B.I. Searches Antiwar Activists’ Homes, New York Times, September 24, 2010
^Sheila Regan, FBI raids activist homes in Minneapolis, Chicago, Twin Cities Daily Planet, September 24, 2010.
^Activists to Protest Recent FBI Raids on Anti-War Members, Associated Press, September 24, 2010.
Further readingedit
Barak-Erez, Daphne; Scharia, David (2011). (PDF). Harvard National Security Journal. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 6, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
External linksedit
Text of Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, 561U.S. 1 (2010) is available from:CourtListenerJustiaOyez (oral argument audio)
The Supreme Court goes too far in the name of fighting terrorism (Washington Post)
What Counts as Abetting Terrorists? (NYT)
Andrew F. March, "A Dangerous Mind?" New York Times Sunday Review, April 22, 2012
April 11, 2024
holder, humanitarian, project, this, article, contain, citations, that, verify, text, please, check, citation, inaccuracies, september, 2019, learn, when, remove, this, template, message, 2010, case, decided, june, 2010, supreme, court, united, states, regardi. This article may contain citations that do not verify the text Please check for citation inaccuracies September 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message Holder v Humanitarian Law Project 561 U S 1 2010 was a case decided in June 2010 by the Supreme Court of the United States regarding the Patriot Act s prohibition on providing material support to foreign terrorist organizations 18 U S C 2339B The case petitioned by United States Attorney General Eric Holder 1 represents one of only two times in First Amendment jurisprudence that a restriction on political speech has overcome strict scrutiny 2 The other is Williams Yulee v Florida Bar Holder v Humanitarian Law ProjectSupreme Court of the United StatesArgued February 23 2010Decided June 21 2010Full case nameHolder et al v Humanitarian Law Project et al Docket no 08 1498Citations561 U S 1 more 130 S Ct 2705 177 L Ed 2d 355Case historyPriorHumanitarian Law Project v Mukasey 552 F 3d 916 9th Cir 2009 HoldingThe federal government may prohibit providing non violent material support for terrorist organizations including legal services and advice without violating the free speech clause of the First Amendment Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and remanded Court membershipChief Justice John Roberts Associate Justices John P Stevens Antonin ScaliaAnthony Kennedy Clarence ThomasRuth Bader Ginsburg Stephen BreyerSamuel Alito Sonia SotomayorCase opinionsMajorityRoberts joined by Stevens Scalia Kennedy Thomas AlitoDissentBreyer joined by Ginsburg SotomayorLaws appliedU S Const amend I 18 U S C 2339BThe Supreme Court ruled against the Humanitarian Law Project which sought to help the Kurdistan Workers Party in Turkey and Sri Lanka s Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam learn how to resolve conflicts peacefully 3 It concluded that the US Congress had intended to prevent aid to such groups even for the purpose of facilitating peace negotiations or United Nations processes because that assistance fit the law s definition of material aid as training expert advice or assistance service and personnel The finding was based on the principle that any assistance could help to legitimate the terrorist organization and free up its resources for terrorist activities 4 The court noted that the proposed actions of the Humanitarian Law Project were general and entirely hypothetical and implied that a post enforcement challenge to the application of the material support provisions was not prevented Contents 1 Reception 2 Implementation 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksReception editFormer President Jimmy Carter criticized the decision and argued The material support law which is aimed at putting an end to terrorism actually threatens The Carter Center s work and the work of many other peacemaking organizations that must interact directly with groups that have engaged in violence The vague language of the law leaves us wondering if we will be prosecuted for our work to promote peace and freedom 5 Elisabeth Decrey Warner the president of the Swiss NGO Geneva Call also expressed her disapproval by stating Civilians caught in the middle of conflicts and hoping for peace will suffer from this decision How can you start peace talks or negotiations if you don t have the right to speak to both parties 6 In January 2011 David D Cole a professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center who argued the case for the Humanitarian Law Project commented on developments since the decision He noted that several prominent former officeholders including Rudolph Giuliani and Tom Ridge had spoken in support of the People s Mujahedin of Iran an Iranian opposition group designated by the United States as a terrorist organization 7 He stated that he supported their right to speak but that even nonviolent advocacy such as urging a designation as terrorist to be revoked was illegal under the Supreme Court decision He also pointed to exemptions granted under the rubric of humanitarian aid that turned out to include products like cigarettes and chewing gum 7 He stated Under current law it seems the right to make profits is more sacrosanct than the right to petition for peace and the need to placate American businesses more compelling than the need to provide food and shelter to earthquake victims and war refugees 7 The linguist Noam Chomsky criticized 8 the decision as an issue of freedom of speech and stated that it was the first major attack on freedom of speech in the United States since the notorious Smith Act back around 1940 9 He also stated that it had troubling legal implications since Humanitarian Law Project gave out advice to PKK to urge the group to pursue nonviolence 10 The magazine Mother Jones stated that the Supreme Court ruled that even protected speech can be a criminal act if it occurs at the direction of a terrorist organization It went on to say that people could be convicted of materially supporting terrorism merely for translating a document or putting an extremist video online depending on their intentions 11 Representatives of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement stated that the ruling would probably not affect its operations or its relationship with the US government 6 Implementation editIn September 2010 the FBI raided activists in Minneapolis and Chicago seized computers cellphones and files and issued subpoenas to some targeted individuals to appear before a federal grand jury The FBI agents were seeking evidence of ties to groups deemed by the US government to be foreign terrorist organizations including the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine 12 13 Attorneys linked the raids to the Holder decision 14 15 See also editAnti terrorism legislation Freedom of speech in the United States Incitement to terrorism List of United States Supreme Court cases volume 561References edit Unknown author Aug 4 2012 Holder v Humanitarian Law Project The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago Kent College of Law retrieved August 7 2012 Holder v Humanitarian Law Project 561 U S 1 2010 Justia T he Court found that a restriction on political speech was valid under strict scrutiny for the first time in its history Adam Liptak Court Affirms Ban on Aiding Groups Tied to Terror The New York Times June 21 2010 Liptak Adam February 23 2010 Before the Supreme Court First Amendment and Aid to Terrorists The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved April 4 2019 American Civil Liberties Union June 21 2010 Supreme Court Rules Material Support Law Can Stand Retrieved September 26 2010 a b Marcus Berry July 14 2010 Supreme Court ruling threatens Swiss NGO efforts Archived from the original on July 16 2010 Retrieved September 26 2010 a b c Cole David 2011 01 02 Chewing Gum for Terrorists New York Times Noam Chomsky Videos April 20 2014 Noam Chomsky on Freedom of Speech and Anti Fascism retrieved May 16 2017 Chomsky Noam Chomsky on Obama vs Free Speech YouTube Archived from the original on December 15 2021 Democracy Uprising in the U S A Noam Chomsky on Wisconsin s Resistance to Assault on Public Sector the Obama Sanctioned Crackdown on Activists and the Distorted Legacy of Ronald Reagan Democracy Now February 17 2011 Adam Serwer Does Posting Jihadist Material Make Tarek Mehanna a Terrorist Mother Jones December 16 2011 Colin Moynihan F B I Searches Antiwar Activists Homes New York Times September 24 2010 Search warrant Archived 2010 10 08 at the Wayback Machine and subpoena Archived 2010 10 08 at the Wayback Machine Indymedia Sheila Regan FBI raids activist homes in Minneapolis Chicago Twin Cities Daily Planet September 24 2010 Activists to Protest Recent FBI Raids on Anti War Members Associated Press September 24 2010 Further reading editBarak Erez Daphne Scharia David 2011 Freedom of Speech Support for Terrorism and the Challenge of Global Constitutional Law PDF Harvard National Security Journal 2 Archived from the original PDF on February 6 2020 Retrieved May 19 2020 External links editText of Holder v Humanitarian Law Project 561 U S 1 2010 is available from CourtListener Justia Oyez oral argument audio Supreme Court slip opinion archived The Supreme Court goes too far in the name of fighting terrorism Washington Post What Counts as Abetting Terrorists NYT Andrew F March A Dangerous Mind New York Times Sunday Review April 22 2012 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Holder v Humanitarian Law Project amp oldid 1175143632, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
