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Former Blackwater Guards Challenge Appeals Court Ruling
Lawyers for four former Blackwater security guards are challenging an appeals court ruling that revived the government's manslaughter prosecution in Washington federal district court. The attorneys today filed a petition (PDF) asking the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to review the case…At issue is the extent to which the Justice Department misused compelled, protected statements the guards made following a fatal shooting in Baghdad in September 2007… The guards’ lawyers…said in today’s joint petition that the D.C. Circuit decision “creates a dramatic new burden for district courts” conducting hearings on the use compelled statements in criminal prosecutions.