US v. Passaro: This case arises from an "interrogation" Passaro, a former special forces medic (apparently a civilian contractor at the time of the incident), inflicted upon an Afghan detainee at a small US base in Afghanistan in 2003. The interrogation consisted mostly of beating and kicking (the suspect died shortly thereafter), which led to Passaro being charged and convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury (two counts of each) and being sentenced to a 100-month term of imprisonment. The wrinkle is that, while the crime occurred in Afghanistan, it was prosecuted in the Eastern District of NC when Passaro returned to the United States.
On appeal, Passaro challenged his conviction and both he and the Government challenged his sentence. As to the conviction, Passaro first argued that the district court in North Carolina lacked the jurisdiction over acts committed in Afghanistan. The Fourth Circuit disagreed, arguing that the language of 18 USC 7(9) extended jurisdiction to incidents that happened at the US base in Afghanistan. The court also turned away Passaro's argument that the prosecution violated separation of powers principals because the courts were interfering with the executive's foreign policy authority, noting that the executive was the one that brought the prosecution in the first place. In addition, the court concluded that the statute under which Passaro was convicted, 18 USC 113, was not unconstitutionally vague, rejecting his argument that his "battlefield interrogation" could not be an "assault." Passaro's argument that the district court erred in dealing with classified information denied him a fair trial was similarly turned away.
As to sentencing, both Passaro and the Government agreed that the district court's Guideline calculations were wrong (although for slightly different reasons), therefore Passaro's sentence was vacated and the case remanded for resentencing.
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