Doe v. Gonzales
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John Doe John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law enforcement in the United States, such names are often ...
v.
Alberto R. Gonzales Alberto R. Gonzales (born August 4, 1955) is an American lawyer who served as the 80th United States Attorney General, appointed in February 2005 by President George W. Bush, becoming the highest-ranking Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hispanic ...
'' (originally filed as ''Doe v. Ashcroft'', renamed ''Doe v. Gonzalez'', and finally issued as ''Doe v. Mukasey'') was a case in which the
American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
(ACLU), Library Connection, and several then-pseudonymous librarians, challenged Section 2709 of the
Patriot Act The USA PATRIOT Act (commonly known as the Patriot Act) was a landmark Act of the United States Congress, signed into law by President George W. Bush. The formal name of the statute is the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appro ...
; it was consolidated on appeal with a separate case, ''Doe v. Ashcroft''.


Facts

John Doe John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law enforcement in the United States, such names are often ...
was the recipient of a
National Security Letter A national security letter (NSL) is an administrative subpoena issued by the United States government to gather information for national security purposes. NSLs do not require prior approval from a judge. The Stored Communications Act, Fair Cre ...
(NSL) that requested all information associated with one of his Connecticut library’s computers. § 2709 imposed a
gag order A gag order (also known as a gagging order or suppression order) is an order, typically a legal order by a court or government, restricting information or comment from being made public or passed onto any unauthorized third party. The phrase may ...
on the recipients so they could neither inform anyone of receiving the letter, nor act as witnesses.


Rulings

In September 2004, Judge Victor Marrero of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York struck down the NSL provisions of the
USA PATRIOT Act The USA PATRIOT Act (commonly known as the Patriot Act) was a landmark Act of the United States Congress, signed into law by President George W. Bush. The formal name of the statute is the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appro ...
. The government appealed the case to the
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate ju ...
. Justice
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; ; March 15, 1933September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by Presiden ...
, a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, acted as a single Circuit Justice for this case. She ruled against vacating the stay imposed by the Court of Appeals of the Second Circuit upon the Federal District Court’s preliminary injunction. Ginsburg said that the Court should hesitate to interfere with an appeals court that was proceeding on an expedited schedule to review a ruling against a federal law, and that, in any event, the Court should be cautious when such a law had been nullified in a lower court. Nearly a year later, the government dropped its demands and allowed the release of the NSL. The ACLU and Library Connection hailed the government’s withdrawal as a victory for all library users who valued their privacy. The case was dismissed as moot. The
New York Civil Liberties Union The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) is a civil rights organization in the United States. Founded in November 1951 as the New York affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, it is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan organization with nea ...
(NYCLU) and ACLU returned to court in the Southern District of New York on Aug. 15, 2007, arguing that the amended law was unconstitutional because it impermissibly narrowed judicial authority in violation of the separation-of-powers principle and the
First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
. Judge Marrero agreed and struck down the NSL provision of the amended law. The government appealed the decision in the Second Circuit. On March 19, 2008, the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed Amicus briefs at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals arguing that the modifications made in the 2007 USA PATRIOT act are unconstitutional and should be struck down. Oral argument was heard on August 27, 2008, and on December 15, 2008, the Second Circuit issued its opinion affirming that the nondisclosure rules (the "gag order") were constitutional.


Effects

The librarians were awarded the 2005 Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award, by the
American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...
.


Related cases

* ''Doe v. Gonzalez'', 386 F. Supp. 2d 66 (D.Conn. 2005) * ''Doe v. Ashcroft'', 1:04-cv-02614 (SDNY) - ACLU filed suit in April 2004 in support of a John Doe ISP ** ''Doe v. Ashcroft'', 317 F. Supp. 2d 488 (S.D.N.Y. May 2004) - Order redacting many documents. ** ''Doe v. Ashcroft'', 334 F. Supp. 2d. 471 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 2004) * "USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005", PL No. 109-177, 120 Stat. 192 (March 9, 2006) * ''Doe v. Gonzalez'', 449 F.3d 415 (2d Cir. May 23, 2006) - Consolidated appeal of ''Doe v. Ashcroft'' and ''Doe v. Gonzalez''. 2d Circuit vacated and remanded in light of Congressional amendments USA Patriot Improvement & Reauthorization Act. * ''Doe v. Gonzalez'', 500 F.Supp.2d 386 (SDNY Sept. 2007). District Court invalidated entirety of 2709(c) and 3511(b) * ''Doe v. Mukasey'', 549 F.3d 861 (2d Cir. Dec. 15, 2008). 2d Circuit affirmed unconstitutionality of statutes "to the extent that they impose a nondisclosure requirement on NSL recipients without placing on the Government the burden of initiating judicial review of such a requirement" * Remanded to District Court in October 2009. * Amended order, March 2010. * Appealed to the 2d Circuit, May 2010; appeal subsequently withdrawn. * Stipulation and case dismissed, July 30, 2010.''Doe v. Ashcroft''
"Civil Rights Clearinghouse Litigation"


Notes


External links


"Doe v. Holder : Internet Service Provider's NSL"
''ACLU''
"USA PATRIOT Act: Doe v. Gonzales"
''American Library Association''
Doe v. Gonzales: Fighting the FBI's Demand for Library Records – Statement of George ChristianDoe v. Gonzales: Fighting the FBI's Demand for Library Records – Statement of Barbara BaileyJameel Jaffer testimony
National Security Letter Reforn Act, April 15, 2008 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Doe V. Gonzales United States District Court for the Southern District of New York cases American Civil Liberties Union litigation American librarianship and human rights United States District Court case articles without infoboxes