





For Immediate Release:

October 31, 2008 Court Orders Government to Submit Warrantless Surveillance Legal Opinions for Judicial Review Court refuses to accept blanket assertions of secrecy regarding DOJ surveillance opinions For more information contact:

Meredith Fuchs - 202/994-7000

Washington D.C., October 31, 2008 - In an opinion issued today in a case brought by the National Security Archive, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the United States District Court for the District of the Columbia ordered the Department of Justice to submit several legal opinions issued by the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel for in camera review. The court explained that the “[Department of Justice] has now had two opportunities to provide this court with sufficiently detailed affidavits to describe why the documents at issue are subject to the claimed exemptions, and why many documents must be withheld in full.” Finding the Justice Department explanations insufficient, the court is now ordering the records submitted for the court’s review. The opinion is available here.



