A Los Angeles federal judge has ruled that portions of the 1996 federal anti-terrorism law are unconstitutional--a ruling with potential ramifications for new legislation introduced after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
In a decision made public Thursday, U.S. District Judge Audrey B. Collins said that the 1996 law's prohibition against providing "training" and "personnel" to groups designated as "foreign terrorist organizations" by the U.S. State Department are too vague to be constitutionally acceptable.
Collins' decision marks the second time she has struck down parts of the 1996 law, enacted the year after Timothy J. McVeigh bombed the Oklahoma City federal building, killing 166 people.
The law permits the secretary of State, in consultation with the attorney general and the secretary of the Treasury, to designate a group as a foreign terrorist organization if, among other things, the terrorist activity "threatens the security of United States nationals or the national security of the U.S."
The statute defines "terrorist activity" as "an act which the actor knows, or reasonably should know, affords material support to any individual, organization, or government in conducting a terrorist activity at any time."
The judge's latest decision was praised by a lawyer who represented the plaintiffs challenging the law.
"This case stands for the proposition that the government cannot broadly ban all support to 'terrorist organizations,' and that constitutional restrictions do apply even in the war against terrorism," said Georgetown University law professor David Cole.
Cole said the immigration provisions of legislation proposed by Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft, now under consideration in Congress, "would, among other things, make aliens deportable for providing 'training' to terrorist organizations. That aspect of the bill, at least, would be unconstitutional under this ruling."
The Justice Department had no immediate comment on the ruling.
In 1997, Secretary of State Madeline K. Albright designated 30 groups as terrorist organizations, including the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which opposes the Turkish government, and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which opposes the Sri Lankan government.
In 1998, the anti-terror law was challenged in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles by several individuals and groups, including the Los Angeles-based Humanitarian Law Project--which works with dissident groups, including the PKK, in several countries--and the World Tamil Coordinating Committee, which works with the LTTE.
