In the wake of Judge John Bates dismissing the ACLU/CCR lawsuit against targeted killing, I asked what happens if you're on a government "kill list" but have no idea, aren't a high-profile figure like Anwar al-Awlaki, and would take advantage of the courts if you could. Nick Baumann responds:
I know this was probably rhetorical, but what happens is that you're shit out of luck.
Well, probably. But the point of asking the question was to say that by dismissing the case on standing, Bates was dodging many of the vital questions, namely: Is it legal for the government to have a "list" of U.S. citizens it believes it is allowed to kill? Shouldn't Americans know the criteria for how one gets on the list and how to get off it, especially since the case was dismissed in part because al-Awlaki seemed to make it clear he had no interest in doing so? Don't Americans have a right to know the standard under which they could be killed by their own government?
