Appeals court says raid on Muslims' Va. home OK
Lawyer Blogs
Government agents searching for evidence of terrorist funding acted reasonably when they broke down a Muslim family's front door, entered with guns drawn and handcuffed a frantic woman and her teenage daughter, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a lower court's decision rejecting the family's claims of false imprisonment, assault and battery, conspiracy, and unconstitutional search and seizure.
The raid on the Herndon home of Iqbal and Aysha Unus and their daughter, Hanaa, was one of several conducted in northern Virginia in 2002, months after the 9-11 terrorist attacks. No charges were filed as a result of the search, part of a federal anti-terrorism investigation called "Operation Green Quest."
Agents targeted the home of Iqbal Unus, an employee of the Islamic Institute of Islamic Thought, because he was an officer or adviser in three organizations the government suspected of supporting international terrorism.
According to Aysha and Hanaa Unus, authorities knocked loudly on their door and demanded entry. Aysha Unus said she saw a gun through the window and screamed for her daughter, who called 911. That's when agents, weapons drawn, knocked down the door with a battering ram and handcuffed the residents.
Related listings
-
Stocks could pose conflicts for court prospects
Lawyer Blogs 05/06/2009Some Supreme Court prospects have extensive corporate holdings, including shares in Fortune 500 companies such as General Electric and Microsoft and stock in a manufacturer that recalled lead-paint-coated "Flush & Sounds Potty" toilet seats. Sinc...
-
Iowa plant ex-worker wants ID theft plea withdrawn
Lawyer Blogs 05/06/2009A former human resources employee at an Iowa kosher slaughterhouse where hundreds of illegal immigrants were caught in a raid last year has withdrawn her guilty plea to identity theft. Laura Althouse's attorney filed a motion Monday to withdraw the p...
-
Supreme Court conservatives criticize voting rights law
Lawyer Blogs 05/01/2009U.S. Supreme Court conservatives on Wednesday sharply criticized a central part of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that is aimed at more than a dozen states with a history of racial discrimination. It is the second major race case heard by the justices af...
Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC
A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party
Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party
However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.