NATIONAL SECURITY LAW
Asha Rangappa
Associate Dean, Yale Law School
Spring 2016
Syllabus
DRAFT
Overview of Course
This course explores the legal questions raised by historical and contemporary national security issues and
policies. Although I will teach the class much like a traditional law class with an emphasis on the U.S.
Constitution, statutes, regulations, executive orders, and court cases, no previous legal knowledge is
expected or required.
As you will learn throughout this course, learning the law is not as simple as learning set rules and
applying them: there is rarely a “right” or “wrong” answer to a complex legal question. National security
law, in particular, is an expanding field of study, with new laws and policies testing the limits of
previously understood constitutional and legal boundaries. Therefore, we will focus on how to approach
national security questions by understanding the fundamental legal tenets of national security policies, the
analyses used by courts and legislatures to confront various intelligence and terrorism issues, and theories
of how to balance the interests of national security with civil liberties. At the end of this course, students
should be able to:
1. Understand the foundational framework provided by the U.S. Constitution as understood by
the Founders and as later interpreted in more recent times;
2. Identify separation of powers issues in historical and ongoing national security debates and
understand contemporary theories of presidential power;
3. Recognize the constitutional and statutory limits on intelligence collection and electronic
surveillance in the U.S. and abroad; and
4. Analyze the rights and legal issues involved with the arrest, detention, interrogation, and
prosecution of suspected terrorists.
Required Texts
1. Dycus, Berney, Banks, and Raven-Hansen, National Security Law (5th edition 2011).
2. 2015-2016 Supplement to Dycus, Berney, Banks, Raven-Hansen, National Security Law and
Counterterrorism Law (2013).
3. Soufan, Ali, Black Banners, The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against Al-Queda, (Norton,
2011)
Page numbers in the assignments listed in the syllabus refer to the textbook. If an assignment refers to the
Supplement, it will explicitly refer to the Supplement (“Supp. pp. __-___). All material, including
commentary, footnotes, questions, etc. within the assigned page range is included in each assignment.
Please bring the casebook and Supplement to each class. Cases and other material noted in parentheses
are those we will focus on, though time constraints may prevent us from covering all of them. You will
be responsible for all assigned material for the final exam.
Additional readings (news articles, law review articles, etc.) may be posted on Moodle each week. I will
note which readings are required for that week. You are also encouraged to make it a habit to follow one
or more reputable, national daily news sources on your own (e.g., National Public Radio, The New York
Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Foreign Affairs, etc.) for current
developments surrounding national security, intelligence, terrorism, and the law.
Course Expectations
I expect you to read the assigned materials and participate in class discussions. Class attendance is
mandatory. If you will not be able to attend a class, please let me know in advance by email.
Laptops and/or electronic note taking will not be allowed during class. Please bring paper and a pen to
take notes.
Your grade in this class will be based on four criteria: (1) written thought responses to the reading
material and discussion questions for each week’s reading; (2) class participation; and (4) a final exam.
(1) Written Thought Responses (30% of overall grade)
Each week, I will post on Moodle discussion questions related to the upcoming reading assignments. All
students are required to post a response to one of the discussion questions each week. Responses must be
sent by Thursday at noon. I will try to have grades and comments for you by class the following day.
The written responses should be 3-5 pages, double-spaced. They are not meant to be research papers or
polished finished products, but they should be well thought-out, organized, and make a clear argument for
the position you choose to take. The weekly responses are meant to prepare you for the final exam, so
please use the feedback to improve your legal writing and argumentation skills.
The written responses will be graded on a scale of zero to four points:
4 points: Incorporates some of the assigned material into the response and provides insightful analysis
and original thinking
3 points: Incorporates some of the assigned material into the response in an organized and coherent
manner
2 points: Summary of some of the assigned material but does not respond to the discussion question
1 point: Minimal indication that assigned material was reviewed
0 points: Response not submitted (and “pass” already used)
(2) Class Participation (30% of overall grade)
This class is a seminar with relatively small enrollment. Active participation is necessary to maintain an
interesting, lively, and productive discussion. Therefore, your level of class participation will constitute a
meaningful percentage of your overall grade. Level of expertise is not the test, but rather, level of
interest, engagement, and effort.
(3) Final Exam (50% of overall grade)
You will take a 24-hour take-home essay exam. The exam will explore the various themes covered in
class, and you will be expected to draw upon case law, relevant legal theories, and other readings to
support your answers. I will provide more detail on the exam as we near the end of the course.
NOTE ON ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: Please familiarize yourself with the University’s policy on
cheating, plagiarism, and documentation. It is your responsibility to understand and abide by this
policy. If you do not understand or are uncertain about what constitutes cheating or plagiarism,
please ask. Any cases of suspected plagiarism will be reported directly to the appropriate dean, and
documented plagiarism will result in a complete loss of credit on the assignment.
Reading Assignment
Part I. The Constitutional Framework
Week 1 (Jan. 22)
Introduction to the Constitution and the Separation of Powers
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
pp. 1313-1319 (U.S. Constitution)
pp. 7-51(Youngstown)
Week 2 (Jan. 29)
The President’s War Powers
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
pp. 52-89 (Curtis-Wright, Dames & Moore, The Prize Cases, Little, In re Neagle)
Office of Legal Counsel Memo re President’s Power to Conduct Military Operations
Against Terrorists (September 15, 2001)
Week 3 (Feb. 5)
War and Congress: The War Powers Resolution


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pp. 90-98 (Bas)
pp. 269-286
pp. 293-302 (Vietnam War)
pp. 307-322 (War Powers Resolution)
Part II. Intelligence Agencies and Their Operations
Week 4 (Feb. 12)
The Intelligence Community and Intelligence Collection



pp. 525-552 (National Security Act of 1947)
Excerpts from Alex Rosmiller’s Still Broken: A Recruit’s Inside Account of Intelligence
Failures, from Baghdad to the Pentagon (Presidio, 2008)
GUEST SPEAKER: Alex Rossmiller
The CIA and Covert Actions


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pp. 443-488 (Executive Order No. 12,333)
pp. 511-524
“The Triple Agent” (Joby Warrick, Newsweek, June 19, 2011)
Week 5 (Feb. 19)
Covert Actions Cont’d


Movie (in class): The Man Nobody Knew: In Search of My Father, CIA Spymaster
William Colby (2011, 104 min.)
pp. 488-510 (Intelligence Oversight Act of 1980, Intelligence Authorization Act 1991,
Iran-Contra Affair)
Targeted Killings


pp. 376-410
Supp. pp. 58-83 (DOJ White Paper on Targeted Killings of Senior Operational Leaders of
Al Qaeda and Associated Forces)
Part III. National Security and the Fourth Amendment
Week 6 (Feb. 26)
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)


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Movie (outside class): The Lives of Others (2006)
pp. 553-579 (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1977, Keith, Ehrlichman, Dinh
Hung)
Supp.: pp. 79-82
Week 7 (Mar. 4)
FISA Cont’d

pp. 580-632 (Rosen, Sealed Case No. 02-001, 02-002, In re Directives [Redacted], FISA
Amendments Act)
Third Party Records


pp. 633-677 (Smith, Warshak, Doe I)
Supp.: pp. 82-116
Part IV. Identifying, Detaining, Interrogating, and Prosecuting Terrorists
Week 8 (Mar. 25)
Defining and Criminalizing Terrorism

pp. 981-1015 (Rahman, Humanitarian Law Project, Bin Laden)
Civil Detention and Suspending the Great Writ

pp. 733-810 (Ex Parte Milligan)
Week 9 (Apr. 1)
Civil Detention and Suspending the Great Writ Cont’d

pp. 773-810 (Eisentrager, Rasul. Boumedienne)
Week 10 (Apr. 8)
Military Detention of Terrorist Suspects


pp. 811-892 (Alien Enemy Act, Korematsu, Ex Parte Quirin, Hamdi, Padilla v. Rumsfeld,
Padilla v. Hanft, Al-Marri, Al-Bihani)
Supp.: pp. 143-166
Week 11 (Apr. 15)
Interrogating Terrorist Suspects: The Use of Torture

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Black Banners
pp. 895-951 (Emmanuel, Geneva Conventions, Detainee Treatment Act)
Supp.: 166-182
Handout: The “Torture Memos”
Movie (in class): Taxi to the Dark Side (2007)
Movie (outside class): Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
Week 12 (Apr. 22)
Trial by Military Commission

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pp. 1063-1113 (Military Order of Nov. 13, 2001, Hamdan)
Supp.: pp. 183-217
Week 13 (Apr. 29)
Exam Review