Professor Shirin Sinnar comments on the growing number of challenges to the use of the TSA’s No Fly List for Bloomberg BNA.

A U.S. citizen who challenged his alleged placement on the No Fly List may file suit in district court against various government agencies because that court has subject-matter jurisdiction, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held Oct. 26, in an issue of first impression in the circuit (Mokdad v. Lynch, 2015 BL 350898, 6th Cir., No. 14-1094, 10/26/15).

The Sixth Circuit’s ruling is part of a growing movement by the courts allowing constitutional challenges to ‘‘terrorist watchlisting’’ in spite of the federal government’s jurisdictional arguments against review, Shirin Sinnar, a professor at Stanford Law School told Bloomberg BNA in an Oct. 26 e-mail.

‘‘[I]t’s worth noting that, in the context of challenges to the no-fly list more than any other post-September 11 counterterrorism policy, courts have been especially skeptical of the lack of transparency and accountability accompanying the no-fly list process,’’ Steve Vladeck, a law professor at American University Law School in Washington, said in an Oct. 26 e-mail to Bloomberg BNA. Sinnar and Vladeck specialize in national security and counterterrorism law.

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