Military Arrest in Doubt as U.S. Fights Rookie Judge
Source: Bloomberg
By Bob Van Voris - Feb 6, 2013 12:00 AM ET
Katherine Forrest, a federal judge appointed by President Barack Obama who less than a year later blocked a controversial military-detention law, will have that ruling tested when an appeals court hears the government’s claim that her decision would irreparably damage national security.
Forrest, 48, a military-history buff, went from living on food stamps as a teenager to advising Time Warner Inc. and United Airlines Inc. as a corporate litigator. She then took a seven-figure pay cut on the path to her dream job as a judge, and was appointed to U.S. District Court in Manhattan in 2011.
Barack Obama with Leon Panetta in Washington. Photograph: Rex Features via AP Images
Within months, Forrest blocked Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta from enforcing part of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2012, rejecting arguments that she should defer to congressional and executive authority in national- security matters. The plaintiffs in the case said the law permits the military to arrest U.S. citizens for exercising their freedom of speech and of the press.
Forrest’s move earned praise from both ends of the political spectrum, from Tea Party to Occupy Wall Street activists. The Obama administration, meanwhile, warned that the first-year jurist was threatening the ability of the U.S. military to fight terrorism on the battlefield. That ruling is set for oral arguments today before the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York.
Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-06/obama-appointed-judge-faces-test-over-ruling-against-terror-law.html
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