The U.S. Supreme Court has twice approved the material witness procedure to detain a witness for a criminal proceeding pending testimony: in 1929 – the “constitutionality of [the material witness] statute has . . . never been doubted;”[1]� and in 1953 – the “duty to disclose knowledge of crime . . . is so vital that one known to be innocent may be detained, in the absence of bail, as a material witness.”[2]�
Recently, Southern District Judge Shira Scheindlin disagreed, declaring invalid the detention of Osama Awadallah as a grand jury material witness. Mr. Awadallah, a Jordanian national, studying in the United States, knew two hijackers responsible for Sept. 11. He had met with both (approximately 40 times with one), his name was found at Dulles Airport in the car left by a hijacker, and Osama bin Laden photos were found in his apartment. A lie detector test showed that he was not telling the truth about his relationship with the hijackers.
