U.S. Appeals Court to Rehear Case of Deported Canadian


By JAMES BARRON
Published: August 14, 2008
A federal appeals court in New York will take the unusual step of rehearing a case it decided in June, when it dismissed a lawsuit filed by a telecommunications engineer from Canada who was detained at Kennedy Airport in 2002, flown to Jordan and expelled to Syria, where he said he was tortured.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in Manhattan, notified lawyers for the man, Maher Arar, that arguments would be heard on Dec. 9 in an en banc session, meaning in front of all 12 appeals judges. The June decision was made by three of the judges.

The court routinely assigns a three-judge panel to hear each case. One of Mr. Arar’s lawyers, Maria LaHood, of the Center for Constitutional Rights in Manhattan, said it was unusual for the full court to take up a case that had already been decided.

“It’s even more unusual for the Second Circuit to hear a case en banc without being asked,â€