Iraq is a dangerous place, even for -- perhaps, especially for -- the heavily armed men of Blackwater Worldwide Xe. That complicates the work of attorneys defending five Blackwater guards accused of killing 17 Iraqi civilians in Nisur Square in September 2007.

As U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina notes in a new ruling:

"This danger is only magnified for the defense team, given the notoriety of the Nisur Square shooting among the residents of Baghdad and the disdain with which the defense team’s cause is likely to be viewed by some in that city."

Judge Urbina, nonetheless, has now rejected the defense attorneys' request that he order the U.S. government to provide full-bore security services for the defense investigative team. As Judge Urbina noted:

"The defendants contend that they cannot conduct their investigation and have fair access to witnesses and evidence without security, which they cannot obtain in the war zone of Iraq without the government’s assistance. The defendants assert that American lawyers and investigators working in Iraq face mortal danger (especially) given the notoriety of this case in Baghdad."

Urbina, though, sided with the government in concluding that private security firms would be perfectly capable of protecting the Blackwater team.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations is now out from underneath a potentially troubling lawsuit in a bizarre case involving a fraudulent lawyer.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Ricard Urbina dismissed a lawsuit brought by individuals aggrieved over an episode involving a Mr. Morris Days. Back in 2006, Days was hired as a resident attorney for CAIR's Maryland-Virginia office. His job was to represent Muslims who claimed their civil rights had been violated. Only one problem, Judge Urbina noted:

"Days, however, had never been to law school and was not licensed to practice law...(but allegedly he) charged over thirty clients for legal services despite the fact that he was not a lawyer and did not perform any legal services."

Rene Arturo Lopez and the other plaintiffs claimed CAIR officials fired Days when they discovered what was going on, but then allegedly sought to cover up his deeds. The plaintiffs contended, as Judge Urbina summed it up, that "over time, as complaints mounted, the defendants purportedly agreed that they would provide partial restitution to the most vocal victims. They also allegedly agreed that they would not disclose the fraud to any law enforcement or other government agency."

Maybe so, but the judge concluded that the plaintiffs who lost money -- like the couple who paid $850 to have their divorce handled -- couldn't trace their loss to any steps taken by CAIR. Days, the judge reasoned, was the sole perpetrator of the alleged scheme.