United States v. Eqbal Ahmad Appeal of Elizabeth McAlister William Davidon, Intervenor

OPINION OF THE COURT

WEIS, Circuit Judge.

The difficulties that may be encountered when litigation is divided between courts of concurrent jurisdiction is illustrated by this Tale of Two Districts — an appeal generated by civil suit fallout from a closed criminal proceeding.

During the pretrial stages of a criminal case in the Middle District of Penn sylvania in which she was a defendant, 1 Elizabeth McAlister, now Mrs. Philip Berrigan, learned, that she may have been overheard by electronic surveillance. Judge R. Dixon Herman, who presided over the case, found that there had been an…