Fourth Circuit Upholds Presidential Authority To Detain Foreign Student Living In U.S.: SCOTUSblog posted on today's Fourth Circuit ruling in Al-Marri v. Pucciarelli (06-6427). The decision allows President Bush to detain a foreign student living in the United States, based on claims the student has terrorist links. While the Fourth Circuit ruled the President has the authority to detain, it also found the petitioner had not had sufficient opportunity to challenge his status as an "enemy combatant." The Fourth Circuit split 5-4 on each of the two issues, with seven judges writing separate opinions. In his post, Lyle Denniston reports that because of the split, it is Judge Traxler’s 35 page opinion that will be considered controlling on both issues. Lyle Denniston also reports that the decision is now headed for the Supreme Court. Denniston reports the student's attorney's "expect to ask the Supreme Court to review the part of the decision upholding presidential detention power over those seized inside the U.S." Over at Volokh Conspiracy, Orrin Kerr provides his thoughts on the Al-Marri decision. He predicts that if the Solicitor General decides to appeal, the Supreme Court will take the case.

Federal Criminal Law: Also at Volokh Conspiracy, Ilya Somin posts his thoughts on an report by LSU Professor John Baker detailing the expansion of federal criminal law. In his article, Baker points out there are now 4500 different federal crimes, with the number growing consistently at a rate of about 50 new federal crimes every year. Somin's post urges individuals to pay attention to the growth of federal criminal law because (1) it "undermines the advantages of competition and diversity that flow from decentralized federalism"; (2) "federal sentences tend to be stiffer than state ones, and federal court procedural rules more pro-government"; and (3) "the expansion of federal criminal [law] further undermines the constitutional principle that the federal government is one of limited and enumerated powers."

Eyewitness Identification Study: Psychology and Crime News has a post providing a link to the June 2008 Issue of Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied (Volume 14, Issue 2). The June issue contains a study by Steve D. Charman and Gary L. Wells examining whether eyewitnesses can correct for external influences during lineup identifications.