Very few attorneys get to argue a federal case with global importance in front of C-SPAN cameras. Marwa Elzankaly, 35, did that back in 2008 when pursuing an appeal on behalf of Rahinah Ibrahim, a Stanford University graduate student from Indonesia who found herself on the federal “no-fly” list.
Government lawyers had argued that federal judges had no jurisdiction over the Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration based on a federal statute. But Elzankaly argued before the 9th Circuit that because the particular agency that actually compiles the list — the Terrorist Screening Center — was part of the FBI, not the TSA, it was not covered by that law. A segment of the arguments was later broadcast on C-SPAN. Her argument prevailed, and the 9th Circuit agreed to allow federal trial judges to adjudicate the makeup of the no-fly list. Elzankaly and other McManis attorneys are continuing to work on Ibrahim’s efforts to clear her name. That case made Elzankaly a national expert on the no-fly list and how to fight such challenges.
