Judge’s Controversial Ruling in Defense Authorization Case Goes to Court Today

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Katherine Forrest is a federal judge in New York appointed by President Obama to fill the spot vacated by bank battler Jed Rakoff when he went on senior status. Within months of taking the job, Forrest blocked the president and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta from enforcing aspects of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012. The plaintiff, Chris Hedges, and groups objecting to the policy -- including the Center for Media and Democracy -- argued that the law is so broadly written that it could be used to permit the military to arrest U.S. citizens and detain them indefinitely for exercising their freedom of speech and of the press.

Today, an appeals court in New York will hear the government's claim that her decision would "irreparably damage national security." Below Bloomberg News summarizes the issues and says more about this interesting judge:

"Here, the stakes get no higher: indefinite military detention -- potential detention during a war on terrorism that is not expected to end in the foreseeable future, if ever," Forrest wrote in a 112-page opinion. "Presented, as this court is, with unavoidable constitutional questions, it declines to step aside."

The government said the law merely reaffirms the president's existing military-detention authority. Justice Department lawyers, who said Forrest's decision "threatens irreparable harm to national security and the public interest," won an order suspending it during the appeal.

The plaintiffs, including former New York Times reporter Christopher Hedges, said the law permits the indefinite detention of American citizens and permanent residents taken into custody in the U.S. on suspicion of providing substantial support to al-Qaeda, the Taliban and unspecified "associated forces."

Suspect activities could include political advocacy and news reporting protected by the free speech guarantees in the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, the opponents said.

Read the full article here.