The fate of Ms. Muthana, whose family lives in Alabama, has raised novel legal issues and become a political flash point since she surrendered to coalition forces fighting ISIS and said last month that she wanted to come home. In response, the Trump administration said she was not a citizen and would not be allowed back. The judge’s ruling that there are insufficient grounds to expedite the litigation means that her case is unlikely to be resolved until late spring or summer. But his comments also provide a reason to believe that she may ultimately prevail. Charlie Swift, a lawyer hired by her father, said after the hearing that he was “encouraged” by Judge Walton’s views and hoped it was “foreshadowing” of the outcome.

Source: New York Times March 04, 2019 21:12 UTC