The Classified Information Procedures Act or CIPA ( through ) is codified as the third appendix to Title 18 of the
U.S. Code
In the law of the United States, the Code of Laws of the United States of America (variously abbreviated to Code of Laws of the United States, United States Code, U.S. Code, U.S.C., or USC) is the official compilation and codification of th ...
, 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47 F.R. 14874 was rescinded by;
:*, Apr. 17, 1995, , was rescinded after amended by;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:*, Mar. 25, 2003, , was rescinded by;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
Graymail is the threatened revelation of state secrets in order to manipulate legal proceedings. It is distinct from blackmail, which may include threats of revelation against, and manipulation of, any private individual. Graymail is used as a de ...
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 material that a government body deems to be sensitive information that must be protected. Access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of people with the necessary security clearance and need to kn ...
during the course of a trial. The graymailing defendant essentially presented the government with a "
dilemma
A dilemma ( grc-gre, δίλημμα "double proposition") 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 dis ...
": 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.
Types
Variations of fairs incl ...
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
*
Silent witness rule - evolved from the CIPA in the late 1900s/early 2000s
*
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 (later absorbed by the National Security Agency), which ran from February 1, 1943, until Oc ...
(problems of using decrypted Soviet messages as evidence at court)
*
State Secrets Protection Act The State Secrets Protection Act, , ("SSPA") was a bill first proposed in the U.S. Senate during the 110th Congress by Senators Kennedy, Leahy, and Specter on January 22, 2008. Senator Kennedy put out a press release explaining the rationale behin ...
*
Federal Tort Claims Act
*
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 doc ...
(
Espionage Act of 1917 case involving CIPA arguments)
*
Joseph Nacchio
Joseph P. Nacchio (born June 22, 1949 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American executive who was chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Qwest Communications International from 1997 to 2002. Nacchio was convicted of insider trading durin ...
(case involving CIPA arguments)
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 law
United States federal judiciary legislation
United States government secrecy
Joe Biden