(AP) A panel of federal appellate judges expressed concerns about ordering wholesale changes to a government watchlist of roughly 1 million individuals labeled as “known or suspected terrorists,” despite a lower court finding that the list was constitutionally flawed.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, heard arguments Tuesday on the constitutionality of the watchlist, also known as the Terrorism Screening Database.
Government lawyers urged the judges not to intervene in the executive branch’s administration of the list and its national security judgments.
Fundamentally, they said the problems encountered by those on the list, like enhanced screening at airports and delays at border crossings, were too insignificant to merit intervention on constitutional grounds. They said many Americans experience such delays during travel, often at random.
