Court Dismisses Terror Suspects' Lawsuit

A federal appeals court Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit against the CIA's policy of extraordinary rendition—where an alleged terror suspect is sent to a prison outside U.S. jurisdiction so the laws against torture or questioning don't apply. The decision is not only a victory for the CIA on one of its most controversial policies, but also for the Obama administration, which has continued the Bush-era policies of secrecy in issues of national security. Judge Raymond C. Fisher said the 6-5 victory "reluctantly" concluded that the lawsuit represented a "rare case" of the plaintiff's day in court being outweighed by the government's need to keep state secrets. The American Civil Liberties Union had filed the lawsuit against Jeppesen Dataplan Inc., a subsidiary of Boeing and the airline that the accused suspects said was used to fly them overseas, on behalf of five former prisoners who say they tortured under the program. The ACLU said it would appeal the ruling.