Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, No. 08-1498; U.S. Supreme Court; opinion by Roberts, C.J.; dissent by Breyer, J.; decided June 21, 2010. On certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
It is a federal crime to “knowingly provid[e] material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization.” See 18 U.S.C. § 2339B(a)(1). The authority to designate an entity a “foreign terrorist organization” rests with the Secretary of State, and is subject to judicial review. “[T]he term ‘material support or resources’ means any property, tangible or intangible, or service, including currency or monetary instruments or financial securities, financial services, lodging, training, expert advice or assistance, safehouses, false documentation or identification, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, lethal substances, explosives, personnel (1 or more individuals who may be or include oneself), and transportation, except medicine or religious materials.” See § 2339A(b)(1). Over the years, § 2339B and the definition of “material support or resources” have been amended, inter alia, to clarify that a violation requires knowledge of the foreign group’s designation as a terrorist organization or its commission of terrorist acts, § 2339B(a)(1); and to define the terms “training,” § 2339A(b)(2), “expert advice or assistance,” § 2339A(b)(3), and “personnel,” § 2339B(h).
