Federal Appeals Court Allows “No Fly List” Challenge to Proceed

http://www.aclu.org/national-security/federal-appeals-court-allows-no-fly-list-challenge-proceed

A federal appeals court today unanimously ruled that the ACLU’s lawsuit challenging the government’s secretive No Fly List should go forward.

The national ACLU, along with its affiliates in Oregon, southern California, northern California and New Mexico, filed the lawsuit in June 2010, on behalf of 15 U.S. citizens and permanent residents, including four military veterans, who are on the No Fly List and banned from flying to or from the U.S. or over American airspace, causing great personal hardship. None of the ACLU’s clients have ever been told why they are on the No Fly List or given a reasonable opportunity to get off it.

The lawsuit was filed against the FBI, which creates and controls the No Fly List. A district court in Portland, Ore., dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction, ruling that it should have been filed against the Transportation Security Administration, which administers the redress process for travelers denied boarding. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed that decision.