United States v. Osama Awadallah
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
349 F.3d 42 (2d Cir. 2003)
Osama Awadallah (defendant) came under FBI scrutiny during the September 11 investigation and was arrested and detained as a material witness, held for 20 days before being brought before a grand jury, then brought back five days later, at which point he admitted lying during his first appearance; he was charged with making false statements, and the district court granted him bail before he moved to dismiss the charges, arguing the material witness statute did not apply to grand jury proceedings and that his statements were fruit of an invalid arrest. The district court agreed and dismissed the charges; the government appealed.
Whether grand jury witnesses may be detained under the federal material witness statute, 18 U.S.C. § 3144.