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Liberty University *
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520
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Political Science
Date
Jan 9, 2024
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docx
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Recourse on Injury from Government Policy Related to National Security
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2
Prompt:
A state secrets or executive privilege is often claimed in the interest of national security, thereby
foreclosing any disclosure in civil or criminal cases. Given the current state of the law, what
recourse is available to those individuals whose injury resulted from government policy related
to national security matters? What, if any, additional recourses should be available?
Recourse on Injury from Government Policy Related to National Security
Some of the available recourse for people who have gotten injured by government policy
related to national security include the practice of not declaring specific information to be
classified if the government of the United States has not officially confirmed the information.
According to Sharfstein et al. (2019), the details present in the government policy are secret
service; thus, when handling the injury of a person, the issues should be communicated privately.
As a result, a victim of the government policy will have to work with the national organization in
charge of a given policy to ensure that an agreement has been acquired privately if evidence to
the claim is provided (evidentiary cases). Different injuries require specific attention and that is
why the government prefers to use private communication with a victim when handling an injury
that involves national security matters. The court provides guidelines on how available evidence
for the injuries reported by victims is to be used in the lawsuit. Thus, an individual still has
limited power to decide on what they deserve to get when the issue of justice and national
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security matters are concerned since the evidence present is what will determine the direction
that the case will take.
Another recourse is the use of jurisdictional rule where the government policy forbids the
court from considering a given injury case at all. Kraitzman & Genauer (2023) explain that there
are times when the government may give directives for the court to dismiss a case, prevent it
from using any evidence, or both dismiss cases and refuse the evidence. Due to the recourse,
government policies related to national security have become a single method in which courts try
to navigate the problems and cases presented to them by civil servants, which are connected to
national security information.
Therefore, additional recourses should be made available to enhance fairness and justice
among all individuals, especially those in the civil service departments. Some of the additional
recourse should include the provision of federal courts with effective and efficient guidelines to
manage civil cases. Sharfstein et al. (2019) explain that the executive arm of the government can
provide clear guidelines to the judiciary arm on how they have to handle cases, a balance should
exist to enhance competition in state secrecy and open justice. The fact that the nation’s
constitution allows Congress to create jurisdiction rules, procedures, and evidence for the courts,
then the same freedom should also be exercised in the issue of national secrecy. The balance
between secrecy and justice will make it possible for everyone to get the desired justice they
deserve. Besides, the secrets of the nation will still be safe but with limited privileges when the
rights of the normal people, in the country, are concerned.
Moreover, congress should offer the judiciary relevant sets of tools and standards to
determine the evidence that is to be used in specific cases and those that should not be disclosed
at any point in civil proceedings, to protect the nation. The tools can include pre-cleared experts,
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procedural rules due to harm risks to national securities, special masters, and attorneys to help
judges and injured parties with specialized expertise in issues related to national security (“The
State Secrets,” 2022). The creation of these procedures will facilitate the appropriate resolution
on the merits of given cases, even if some evidence is missing.
References
Kraitzman, A.P., & Genauer, J. (2023). The impact of security issues on government evaluation:
evidence from the Arab World. Pages 693-714 | Received 25 Apr 2022, Accepted 03 Jan 2023,
https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2023.2177639
Sharfstein, M.J., Leighton, J., Sommer, A., Mackenzie, E.J., Poller Porter, K.M., & McGinty
Emma. (2019). The Importance of Policy Change for Addressing Public Health Problems.
doi:
10.1177/0033354918788880
The State Secrets Privilege: National Security Information in Civil Litigation. (2022).
Congressional Research Service;
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47081