The Classified Information Procedures Act or CIPA ( through ) is codified as the third appendix to Title 18 of the
U.S. Code
The United States Code (formally The Code of Laws of the United States of America) is the official Codification (law), codification of the general and permanent Law of the United States#Federal law, federal statutes of the United States. It ...
, the title concerning crimes and criminal procedures. The U.S. Code citation i
18 U.S.C. App. III. Sections 1-16
Legislative revision history
The hidden table below lists the
acts of Congress that affected the act directly. The years in which the legislative revisions were made appear in bold text preceding the Public Laws that enacted them. The links to the codification and the section notes may provide additional information about the legislative changes, as well.
Applicable executive orders
:* , Apr. 06, 1982
47 F.R. 14874 was rescinded by
:* , Apr. 17, 1995, , was rescinded after amended by
::* , Sept. 18, 1995, ,
::* , Nov. 19, 1999, ,
:* , Mar. 25, 2003, , was rescinded by
:* , Dec. 29, 2009, (current)
Purpose
The primary purpose of CIPA was to limit the practice of
graymail by
criminal defendants in possession of sensitive government secrets. "Graymail" refers to the threat by a criminal defendant to disclose
classified information
Classified information is confidential material that a government deems to be sensitive information which must be protected from unauthorized disclosure that requires special handling and dissemination controls. Access is restricted by law or ...
during the course of a trial. The graymailing defendant essentially presented the government with a "
dilemma
A dilemma () is a problem offering two possibilities, neither of which is unambiguously acceptable or preferable. The possibilities are termed the ''horns'' of the dilemma, a clichéd usage, but distinguishing the dilemma from other kinds of p ...
": either allow disclosure of the classified information or dismiss the indictment.
The procedural protections of CIPA protect unnecessary disclosure of classified information.
[Congressional Research Service Summary of S.1482](_blank)
1980-09-30
CIPA was not intended to infringe on a defendant's right to a
fair trial
A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...
or to change the existing rules of evidence in criminal procedure,
[S. Rep. No. 96-823 at 8] and largely codified the power of district courts to come to pragmatic accommodations of the government's secrecy interests with the traditional right of
public access to criminal proceedings. Courts, therefore, did not radically alter their practices with the passage of CIPA; instead, the Act simply made it clear that the measures courts already were taking under their inherent case-management powers were permissible.
CIPA, by its terms, covers only criminal cases. CIPA only applies when classified information is involved, as defined in the Act's Section 1.
See also
*
Thomas Andrews Drake
Thomas Andrews Drake (born 1957) is a former senior executive of the National Security Agency (NSA), a decorated United States Air Force and United States Navy veteran, and a whistleblower. In 2010, the government alleged that Drake mishandled do ...
(
Espionage Act of 1917
The Espionage Act of 1917 is a United States federal law enacted on June 15, 1917, shortly after the United States entered World War I. It has been amended numerous times over the years. It was originally found in Title 50 of the U.S. Code ( ...
case involving CIPA arguments)
*
Federal Tort Claims Act
The Federal Tort Claims Act (August 2, 1946, ch. 646, Title IV, 28 U.S.C. Part VI, Chapter 171and ) ("FTCA") is a 1946 federal statute that permits private parties to sue the United States in a federal court for most torts committed by pers ...
*
Joseph Nacchio—Case involving CIPA arguments
*
Silent witness rule—Evolved from the CIPA in the late 1900s/early 2000s
*
State Secrets Protection Act
*
Venona project
The Venona project was a United States counterintelligence program initiated during World War II by the United States Army's Signal Intelligence Service and later absorbed by the National Security Agency (NSA), that ran from February 1, 1943, u ...
—Problems with using decrypted Soviet messages as evidence at court
References
* Brian Z. Tamanaha
"A Critical Review of the Classified Information Procedures Act" 13 ''Am. J. Cr. L.'' 277 (1986).
External links
18 U.S.C. App. III. Sections 1-16 Legal Information Institute (
LII), Cornell University Law School
Classified Information Procedures ActPDFdetails
as amended in the GPObr>Statute Compilations collection
{{Authority control
1980 in American law
Joe Biden
United States federal judiciary legislation
United States government secrecy