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Supreme Court to hear case with implications for terrorist suspects

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Supreme Court Tuesday agreed to hear an appeal in a case involving the federal government's use of conspiracy laws to successfully block a crime.

The Justice Department had strongly urged the high court to take the case, saying it has implications for the government's fight against terrorists.

The case involves two men who were arrested and charged with a drug trafficking conspiracy after a sting operation five years ago.

Law enforcement officials in Nevada had discovered a truck carrying millions of dollars worth of cocaine and marijuana.

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With the cooperation of a passenger in the truck, they set up a sting operation, and sent the drug-laden truck on its way. Two men were arrested when they showed up to get the truck in Idaho.

The two, Francisco Recio and Adrian Lopez-Meza, claim they were lured into the conspiracy, and the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco agreed.

The Justice Department, seeking to have the Supreme Court overturn the decision, said the government must be able to operate in a way that allows them to apprehend conspirators as well as prevent the conspiracies.

"Similar legitimate law enforcement tactics are crucial in violent crime, terrorism and other contexts," wrote Solicitor General Theodore Olson in the government's brief.

The case revolves around prosecutors' use of conspiracy charges for crimes that have already been discovered and prevented by law officers.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a string of cases dating back five years, has said that law officers cannot stop a crime, lure people into getting involved with the help of informants, then charge them with being part of the conspiracy.

According to The Associated Press, the 9th Circuit said Recio and Lopez-Meza would likely not have been involved in the conspiracy had they not been lured into it. The court said the government did not prove any other involvement in a conspiracy.

Solicitor General Theodore Olson told the Supreme Court in a filing that the appeals court finding "exonerates culpable defendants and needlessly complicates the prosecution of conspiracy cases," the AP reported.