JURIST - Paper Chase: Ashcroft announces guilty plea in Virginia jihad case

Here's Friday's legal news from the US Department of Justice. Attorney General John Ashcroft announced today that two members of an Islamic terror network have pleaded guilty at a Virginia federal court to weapons and explosives charges. The two have agreed to cooperate with the government in prosecuting other people associated with the Virginia jihad network. Read the DOJ press release here.... Reuters covers Solicitor General Theodore Olson's comments on the US Supreme Court's upcoming case regarding the legality of indefinitely detaining immigrants stopped at the nation's borders. The Supreme Court must decide whether or not to extend a 2001 ruling that said detention was legal for a "reasonable period", usually six months. Olson said that since the 2001 decision, federal courts have ruled inconsistently on the matter and that some of the rulings have threatened national security by allowing the release of dangerous aliens. The Supreme Court case concerns whether the six month limit will apply to immigrants arrested at the border while trying to enter illegally and whose removal is then ordered.

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