United States v. Yousef

Ramzi Yousef, Eyad Ismoil, and Abdul Hakim Murad (defendants) planned to bomb twelve U.S.-bound commercial airliners in Southeast Asia, testing the scheme with smaller bombs before the plot was discovered when a fire broke out in Yousef's Manila apartment while he handled bomb-making chemicals, leading police to find bomb components and detailed attack plans. Convicted on twenty conspiracy counts after the district court denied their pretrial motions challenging U.S. jurisdiction over conduct occurring entirely outside the country -- including a count charging Yousef alone with bombing a foreign-registered civil aircraft, which the district court grounded in universal jurisdiction over 'terrorism' -- the defendants appealed, arguing customary international law provided no basis for U.S. jurisdiction and that domestic law could not override international law limits.