Federal Judge Rules U.S. No-Fly List Is Unconst.; Those Blocked from Flight Can't Challenge Ruling

A federal judge ruled yesterday that the U.S. government's no-fly list -- which bans people accused of terrorism from commercial flights -- violates their constitutional rights, because it gives them no meaningful way to contest that decision, the Reuters website reports today (June 25, 2014).

U.S. District Judge Anna Brown -- ruling on a lawsuit filed in federal court in Oregon by 13 Muslim Americans who were branded with the no-fly status -- ordered the government to come up with new procedures that allow people on the no-fly list to challenge that designation.

"Accordingly, on this record the court concludes plaintiffs inclusion on the no-fly list constitutes a significant deprivation of their liberty interests in international travel," Brown said.

The 13 Muslim plaintiffs -- four of whom are veterans of the U.S. military -- deny they have links to terrorism and say they only learned of their no-fly status when they arrived at an airport and were blocked from boarding a flight.