Book People Archive

ACLU: SCt Unseals Docs in Library Patriot Act Case

[NOTE: See document links in sidebar and at end of press release.     jf]
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http://www.aclu.org/safefree/nationalsecurityletters/26379prs20060803.html

Supreme Court Unseals Documents in Patriot Act Case (8/3/2006)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: media@[redacted]

Government Previously Ordered ACLU to Censor Phrases
Like "Cat is out of the Bag"


WASHINGTON -- Following a Supreme Court order, the American Civil 
Liberties Union today released legal documents that were previously 
sealed by the government and the courts during a legal battle over a 
controversial Patriot Act power.

With the help of the ACLU, Library Connection in Connecticut 
successfully fought against the FBI's use of a "National Security 
Letter" to demand patron records without a court order. The government 
had gagged Library Connection from identifying itself as an NSL 
recipient even after its identity was revealed by the New York Times. 
When the ACLU sought an emergency order from the Supreme Court to lift 
the gag last October, the government required all the court documents to 
be filed under seal. Those documents, available for the first time 
today, included copies of New York Times articles and phrases such as 
"the genie is out of the bottle" and "the cat is out of the bag."

"The documents unsealed today show the absurdity of the government's 
insistence that the Library Connection staff could not speak out even 
after the government's negligence revealed that they were the John Doe 
plaintiffs," said Ann Beeson, ACLU Associate Legal Director and lead 
counsel in this case. "The government's shameful cries of 'national 
security' to hide its actions from the public is an abuse of power that 
only makes America less safe and less free."

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