Cases involving national security often pose unusual and challenging case-management issues for the courts. Evidence or arguments may be classified; witnesses or the jury may require special security measures; attorneys’ contacts with their clients may be diminished; other challenges may present themselves.
The purpose of this Federal Judicial Center resource is to document methods federal judges have employed to meet these challenges so that judges facing the challenges can learn from their colleagues’ experiences. Included are terrorism prosecutions, espionage prosecutions, other criminal cases, the Guantánamo Bay habeas corpus cases, and other civil cases. Also included is a chapter on Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act litigation.
The information presented is based on a review of case files and news media accounts and on interviews with the judges. (Research completion date: August 28, 2022)
Lessons learned from these case studies are summarized in two companion publications:
