Material witness statute edit

Perhaps this page should more properly be called "Material Witness Statute." If so, it could have a comprehensive history of the statute, including an account of the controversial post-9/11 uses of the statute. Then, "material witness" could just be a subheading.

Just updating stuff. I'll keep on adding as I have more time. Aaa36 14:17, 10 May 2006 (UTC)Reply

  • Does anyone know, in what manner is a material witness held? Is it the same 6x8 cell that a bona-fide suspect gets, or something more like a hotel room that you can never leave? 68.147.242.17 04:51, 15 October 2006 (UTC)Reply
  • Practices are very inconsistent, and seem to depend on the location of detention and the identify of the detainee. The report by Human Rights Watch gives the impression that many are held in solitary confinement. I think that prisons justify this as the only reasonable way of holding these witnesses separately from the general prison population, which is a competing concern. In any case, no source that I have read has reported detention in anything but a prison cell of some form. Aaa36 23:20, 12 November 2006 (UTC)Reply

What is "material"? edit

In every phrase defining a material witness, the word "material" is used without explaining what that word means in this context. That makes this entry pretty lame, IMHO. 71.255.167.169 (talk) 17:25, 26 August 2008 (UTC)Reply

Abdullah al-Kidd edit

Mr. al-Kidd, for all the horrible treatment he received, was confined for 16 days, and not 13 months, as the article says. In fact, he was released subject to certain conditions, and lived under these conditions for 13 months. However, his confinement last just over two weeks. I've made the change. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.45.110.150 (talk) 05:41, 21 February 2011 (UTC)Reply

Limits on Location of and Conditions for keeping a Material Witness edit

What limits on conditions and locations are there on the police when it comes to a material witness? Such as - where can and can't the police hold a material witness? Is (s)he kept as a prisoner and not allowed phone calls, visits, to do business, etc? Are they kept in chains, "the hole," prison uniform, etc? --Bmoshier (talk) 12:59, 24 December 2012 (UTC)Reply