Attorneys for the U.S. government and two FBI agents are asking a federal judge to throw out the remaining pieces of a lawsuit brought by an American Muslim who says he was falsely imprisoned when he was arrested under a law intended to make sure witnesses testify in criminal proceedings.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Mikel Williams is expected to hear arguments in the case in Boise on Thursday.
Abdullah al-Kidd, a U.S. citizen, sued former Attorney General John Ashcroft and other federal officials in 2005 after he was arrested and jailed as a material witness in a terrorism-related criminal case against another man. He contends his arrest was just a ruse to give the government time to investigate him for any potential wrongdoing. The federal government maintains its actions were constitutional.
The U.S. Supreme Court has already thrown out al-Kidd's claims against Ashcroft and a handful of other defendants. Now FBI agents Michael Gneckow and Scott Mace and the Department of Justice are asking the judge to do the same for them.
The case began in 2003, when a University of Idaho student and Saudi national Sami Omar al-Hussayen was arrested on terrorism-related charges. The FBI also interviewed al-Kidd, who was a football star at the university and who had done some computer work for al-Hussayen.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Man guilty of misdemeanor in NY parking-punch case
A man who punched a woman in the face over a parking spot was convicted Tuesday of a misdemeanor assault charge but cleared of a more serious felony in his second trial over a clash that left her brain-damaged.
Oscar Fuller, 36, could face up to a year in jail at a June 18 sentencing. Still, he felt vindicated by his acquittal on the felony assault charge, defense lawyer Thomas Kenniff said after the verdict.
"My client feels like he had his day in court and he stood by his innocence," Kenniff said.
Six months after a previous jury deadlocked, another panel deliberated for about a day before deciding a case that stood out as an extreme even for a city known for space crunches and competitiveness.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. called it shameful that "a petty argument over a parking space could escalate into physical violence." The Los Angeles Times called the case an illustration of "the weightiness of New York City's parking woes."
Oscar Fuller, 36, could face up to a year in jail at a June 18 sentencing. Still, he felt vindicated by his acquittal on the felony assault charge, defense lawyer Thomas Kenniff said after the verdict.
"My client feels like he had his day in court and he stood by his innocence," Kenniff said.
Six months after a previous jury deadlocked, another panel deliberated for about a day before deciding a case that stood out as an extreme even for a city known for space crunches and competitiveness.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. called it shameful that "a petty argument over a parking space could escalate into physical violence." The Los Angeles Times called the case an illustration of "the weightiness of New York City's parking woes."
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