United States v. Slough (Blackwater guards indictment); forthcoming scholarship

1. United States v. Slough (D.D.C.  No. cr-08-360)

The indictment in this case, charging five Blackwater security guards with killing 14 unarmed civilians during an incident at Nisur Square in Baghdad in September 2007, is posted here: http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/documents/grandjury.pdf

An information filed against a sixth Blackwater guard, Jeremy Ridgeway, is posted here: http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/documents/us-v-ridgeway2.pdf

Ridgeway has pled guilty to certain charges.  His factual proffer is here: http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/documents/us-v-ridgeway.pdf

Details from DOJ’s press release appear below.  I have highlighted the passages describing DOJ’s jurisdictional theory.  In brief, the claim is that the contractors are subject to the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) because they were providing services in support of DOD’s mission, though their contract was with the State Department.  Whether MEJA applies in this circumstance no doubt will be the focus of considerable litigation going forward.