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The Blackwater case represents somewhat murky legal waters, at least two questions spring to mind. Many wonder if contractors be charged in U.S. courts for crimes committed abroad. If so, should the case be tried in Utah?
Defense attorneys are expected to argue that the guards cannot be charged under a law intended to cover soldiers and military contractors because the men worked as civilian contractors for the U.S. Department of State.
However, federal prosecutors maintain Blackwater was supporting the military's mission in Baghdad and the law, therefore, applies to them.
University of Utah constitutional law professor Wayne McCormack says his reading of the law is that the contractors can be tried in U.S. courts.
"The answer is yes, because they are U.S. nationals who have allegedly committed crimes. Anywhere in the world, we can assert jurisdiction; and in this instance, this statute asserts that jurisdictional basis on whether they were supporting the mission of the military," McCormack explained.
McCormack says given the controversial role of U.S. contractors in the Iraq War, this case will be closely followed. "The prosecution is important for the U.S. government to show that, indeed, there are rules and that those rules are clear enough so that they can be obeyed by persons who are not necessarily under a strict military chain of command," he said.
Should the case be tried in Utah? The federal magistrate today said no and sent the case back to Washington, D.C., for a January hearing.
Given the many larger issues, this case will be a big deal, one watched closely in the United States and abroad, and certainly in the world of the military and military contracting.
E-mail: jdaley@ksl.com
