Due Process
Due Process Overview
Headlines & Opinion
- Eight Year Battle for Removal from UN Terrorism Blacklist Succeeds
- MEK Remains On Terror List
- Good Wife TV Show Highlights Restrictions on Lawyers Representing Groups on Terrorist List
- State Departments Decision About DeListing MEK to be Made before Year's End
- Government Tells Judge that Giving Reasons for Shutting Down Charities "Too Burdensome"
- Charity Leader Released as FBI Tampering with Evidence Comes to Light
- Al-Haramain v. Obama Decision Holds Wiretap of Charity Illegal
- UN Approves Reforms for Terrorism Lists
- Judicial Review Established for Charities in the UK
- Appeals Court Declines to Rule on Constitutionality of Presidential Power to Shut Down Charities
- House passes Bill Creating Right to Contest Placement on Watch Lists
CSN Proposals
- Charity and Security Network Model Policy for Listing and De-Listing Charities
- Charity and Security Network Principles to Guide New Policies
Litigation Overviews
Resources
- Summary of Laws Giving Treasury Power to Shut Down Charities
- CHART: Charity and Security Network Model for Due Process- A Comparison with Current Law
- Analysis of The Procedures for Sanctions Against Charities Act of 2011
- Due Process Bills Before Congress
- Comparison on Due Process Rights of Drug Kingpins and Charities Accused of Supporting Terrorism
- State Secret Privilege Guidelines
- Constitution Project Reform Recommendations to Obama Transition Team
Reports
Charity and Security Network Principles to Guide New Policies
The following ten principles should guide the U.S. government's approach to fixing national security rules and policies that create problems for legitimate charities, development programs, grantmakers, peacebuilding efforts, human rights advocacy and faith-based organizations:
Favorable Settlement in Case of Shut Down Charity KindHearts
On May 1, 2012, lawyers for KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, the Ohio-based charity shut down “pending investigation” by the Treasury Department in February 2006, announced a settlement agreement with Treasury ending the litigation on terms favorable to the charity. In 2009 the federal district court for the Northern District of Ohio ruled that the process Treasury used to shut the charity down while investigating alleged ties to terrorism violated the constitution, and ordered further proceedings on what remedy Treasury should provide. The settlement ends the litigation by allowing KindHearts to pay its debts and distribute the remaining funds among a list of approved charities before it dissolves. At that point Treasury will remove KindHearts from its terrorist list and pay its attorneys fees. Neither side admitted to any wrongdoing.
KindHearts Case Timeline
On May 1, 2012, lawyers for KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, the Ohio-based charity shut down “pending investigation” by the Treasury Department in February 2006, announced a settlement agreement with Treasury ending the litigation on terms favorable to the charity. In 2009 the federal district court for the Northern District of Ohio ruled that the process Treasury used to shut the charity down while investigating alleged ties to terrorism violated the constitution, and ordered further proceedings on what remedy Treasury should provide. The settlement ends the litigation by allowing KindHearts to pay its debts and distribute the remaining funds among a list of approved charities before it dissolves. At that point Treasury will remove KindHearts from its terrorist list and pay its attorneys fees.
This timeline details the issues and procedural history of the case, which illustrates the problems created by using post 9/11 emergency measures for long term regulation of charities in the national security context.
Summary of KindHearts Ruling Requiring Due Process and Probable Cause to Shut Down Charities
On May 1, 2012, lawyers for KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, the Ohio-based charity shut down “pending investigation” by the Treasury Department in February 2006, announced a settlement agreement with Treasury ending the litigation on terms favorable to the charity. In 2009 the federal district court for the Northern District of Ohio ruled that the process Treasury used to shut the charity down while investigating alleged ties to terrorism violated the constitution, and ordered further proceedings on what remedy Treasury should provide. The settlement ends the litigation by allowing KindHearts to pay its debts and distribute the remaining funds among a list of approved charities before it dissolves. At that point Treasury will remove KindHearts from its terrorist list and pay its attorneys fees. Neither side admitted to any wrongdoing. CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON THE SETTLEMENT
The Kadi Case: Court Decisions on Due Process for Terrorist Listing Differ in EU, U.S.
Yassin A. Kadi, a businessman and citizen of Saudi Arabia, purused court challenges to being placed on terrorist lists in the European Union (EU) and United States (U.S.). The process and standards used by the EU and U.S. courts differ substantially, leading to different results: the EU courts have ruled the EU listing process lacks fundamental protections, violating EU human rights standards, while the U.S. courts rejected Kadi's constitutional claims.
Kindhearts v. Treasury: Successfully Challenging the Constitutionality of Treasury Shutting Down a Charity
The Aug. 18, 2009 federal court ruling in KindHearts v. Treasury is a positive step forward in the ongoing efforts of U.S. charities to make national security laws fair and ensure they protect vulnerable people that depend on charities for vital aid. The 100 page order found that the Department of Treasury's (Treasury) seizure of KindHearts assets without notice or means of appeal is a violation of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments.
KindHearts, Government To Settle Case Challenging Process to Shutter Charity
In late December 2011 an Ohio based charity whose assets were frozen by the Treasury Department in 2006 "pending investigation" into possible ties to terrorism announced it is dissolving, the Associated Press reports. KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development (KindHearts) successfully challenged the constitutionality of Treasury's process in shutting it down and the court ordered further proceedings to decide on a remedy. According to a Dec. 31, 2011 court filing, KindHearts and the government have reached a settlement that “provides for a number of preliminary steps prior to dismissal of this case. The parties anticipate completing those steps by July 1, 2012.” No other details of the agreement have been made public.
The Good Wife TV Episode Highlights Restrictions on Lawyers Representing Groups on Terrorist List
"The Good Wife" television series aired an episode entitled "Executive Order 13224" on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011 that provided a very sympathetic treatment of the problems created by the U.S.
Al-Haramain v. Obama Decision Holds Wiretap of Charity Illegal
In a decision leaving Attorney General Holder and others in the Obama administration scratching their heads for what to do next, Chief Judge Vaughn Walker of the Northern Federal District of California ruled on March 31, 2010 that the Bush administration illegally wire tapped phone conversations of an Islamic charity and two American lawyers without a warrant.
