The Associated Press reports that jurors in Virginia Federal Court Convict Ali al-Timimi on charges he encouraged followers to join the Taliban and fight U.S. troops.

From California Yankee.

Reuters reports Sandy Berger pled guilty to stealing National Security Documents from the National Archives.

Berger explains:

“I exercised very poor judgment in the course of reviewing the files,” Berger told reporters outside the courthouse after pleading guilty. “I deeply regret it. It was mistaken and it was wrong.”

“My motivation was to help prepare myself and others,” he said.

Did ya forget the hoopla from the summer? Check here and here for what happened to land us here.

A veteran civil rights lawyer known for representing radicals and revolutionaries in her 30 years on the New York legal scene has vowed to fight her conviction for smuggling messages of violence from one of her jailed clients to his terrorist disciples.

Lynne Stewart, 65, a firebrand, left-wing activist, was convicted Thursday of conspiracy, providing material support to terrorists, defrauding the government and making false statements.

[…]

Lawyers have said Stewart most likely would face a 20-year sentence. She will remain free on bail but must stay in New York until her July 15 sentencing.

Vowing to appeal, Stewart blamed the verdict on inflammatory evidence that included videotape of Osama bin Laden urging support for the jailed Abdel-Rahman, who prosecutors said communicated with the outside world with Stewart’s help.

“When you put Osama bin Laden in a courtroom and ask the jury to ignore it, you’re asking a lot,” she said.

More here

Editorial here

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A federal judge ruled Monday that some foreign terror suspects held in Cuba can challenge their confinement in U.S. courts and she criticized the Bush administration for holding hundreds of people without legal rights.

Judge Joyce Hens Green, handling claims filed by more than 50 detainees, said the Supreme Court made clear last year that they have constitutional rights that lower courts should enforce.

The War on Terror “cannot negate the existence of the most basic fundamental rights for which the people of this country have fought and died for well over 200 years,” she wrote.

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The Associated Press reports that federal judge threw out a lawsuit by foreign-born terror suspects challenging their detention in Guantanamo Bay. ruling that last year’s landmark Supreme Court ruling did not provide them the legal basis to win their freedom:

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled that Congress had authorized the president to order the detention of “enemy combatants” for the duration of the war on terror.

The lawsuit by seven of the roughly 550 detainees being held at the U.S. Navy base failed to show valid legal grounds to overturn that power, Leon said. As a result, the proper place to contest their detainment is before military review boards, not federal courts.

The government’s lawyers have argued that the detainees have no rights at all, so their challenges should be dismissed outright. Judge Leon agreed.

From California Yankee.

Bloomberg reports that the Supreme Court refused to review of the constitutionality of procedures for the military tribunals set up to try Guantanamo Bay detainees.

The justices made no comment in turning away arguments by Salim Ahmed Hamdan, who asked the court to prohibit military trials that don’t adhere to the requirements of the Geneva Conventions. The Bush administration says the Geneva Conventions don’t apply to its fight against bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network.

The Court rejection of Hamdan’s case means the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals will consider the case first. The Circuit Court will hear the case on March 8.

From California Yankee.