Doe v. Mukasey
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
549 F.3d 861 (2008)
- Written by Tammy Boggs, JD
Facts
In 2004, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) (defendant) delivered a national-security letter (NSL) to John Doe, Inc. (Doe) (plaintiff), an Internet service provider (ISP). The FBI requested Doe to provide subscriber and service information for specific email addresses. The letter certified that the information sought was relevant to an investigation against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities. Further, the FBI’s letter advised Doe that the company was prohibited by law from disclosing the fact of having been asked by the FBI to provide the requested information (nondisclosure requirement). Doe and the American Civil Liberties Union (plaintiff) sued the FBI and other government actors (defendants), challenging the constitutionality of the statutes that regulated the issuance of NSLs, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2709 and 3511. The district court found that the statutes violated the First Amendment and ordered the FBI not to enforce the nondisclosure requirement. The government appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Newman, J.)
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