Jewel et al v. National Security Agency et al

Filing 38

MOTION for Leave to File Supplemental Brief on the Scope of FISA Act Preemption filed by Tash Hepting, Gregory Hicks, Carolyn Jewel, Erik Knutzen, Joice Walton. (Attachments: # 1 Supplement Supplemental Memorandum on the Scope of FISA Act Preemption, # 2 Affidavit Wiebe Declaration ISO Supplemental Memorandum, # 3 Exhibit A to Wiebe Decl., # 4 Exhibit B to Wiebe Decl., # 5 Exhibit C to Wiebe Decl., # 6 Exhibit D to Wiebe Decl., # 7 Exhibit E to Wiebe Decl., # 8 Proposed Order Allowing Supplemental Memorandum)(Blizzard, Paula) (Filed on 8/3/2009)

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Jewel et al v. National Security Agency et al Doc. 38 Case3:08-cv-04373-VRW Document38 Filed08/03/09 Page1 of 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION CINDY COHN (SBN 145997) cindy@eff.org LEE TIEN (SBN 148216) KURT OPSAHL (SBN 191303) KEVIN S. BANKSTON (SBN 217026) JAMES S. TYRE (SBN 083117) 454 Shotwell Street San Francisco, California 94110 Telephone: (415) 436-9333; Facsimile: (415) 436-9993 KEKER & VAN NEST, LLP RACHAEL E. MENY (SBN 178514) rmeny@kvn.com PAULA L. BLIZZARD (SBN 207920) pblizzard@kvn.com MICHAEL S. KWUN (SBN 198945) mkwun@kvn.com AUDREY WALTON-HADLOCK (SBN 250574) awaltonhadlock@kvn.com 710 Sansome Street San Francisco, California 94111-1704 Telephone: (415) 391-5400; Facsimile: (415) 397-7188 LAW OFFICE OF RICHARD R. WIEBE RICHARD R. WIEBE (SBN 121156) wiebe@pacbell.net 425 California Street, Suite 2025 San Francisco, California 94104 Telephone: (415) 433-3200; Facsimile: (415) 433-6382 THE MOORE LAW GROUP THOMAS E. MOORE III (SBN 115107) tmoore@moorelawteam.com 228 Hamilton Avenue, 3rd Floor Palo Alto, California 94301 Telephone: (650) 798-5352; Facsimile: (650) 798-5001 Attorneys for Plaintiffs UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA CAROLYN JEWEL, TASH HEPTING, GREGORY HICKS, ERIK KNUTZEN and JOICE WALTON, on behalf of themselves and all other similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY, et al., Defendants. Case No. C-08-4373-VRW CLASS ACTION PLAINTIFFS' ADMINISTRATIVE MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE SUPPLEMENTAL BRIEF ON THE SCOPE OF FISA ACT PREEMPTION Local Rule 7-11 Judge: Vaughn R. Walker Date Comp. Filed: September 18, 2008 446553.02 PLAINTIFFS' ADMINISTRATIVE MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE SUPPLEMENTAL BRIEF ON THE SCOPE OF FISA ACT PREEMPTION CASE NO. C-08-4373-VRW Dockets.Justia.com Case3:08-cv-04373-VRW Document38 Filed08/03/09 Page2 of 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 7-11, Plaintiffs hereby seek leave to file a supplemental brief on the scope of the FISA Act's preemption of the State Secrets Privilege, especially in light of the Court's questioning on that subject during the hearing on July 15, 2009. Plaintiffs' counsel left a message for defense counsel Mr. Coppolino on July 30, informing him of this motion and request and offering that plaintiffs would agree that the government could have 10 court days to respond with a brief of comparable length. Cohn Decl., ¶ 2. Counsel said that he would prefer to reserve the government's position until he sees the motion and brief. He also indicated that given his current schedule, if the Court were to grant Plaintiffs motion he would seek at least thirty days to respond to the brief from the date that the motion was granted. Cohn Decl., ¶ 3. The Court has previously held that "FISA preempts the state secrets privilege in connection with electronic surveillance for intelligence purposes." In re NSA Telecomm. Litig., 564 F. Supp. 2d 1109, 1111 (N.D.Cal. 2008). Moreover, "Section 1806(f) is ... how courts should handle claims by the government that the disclosure of materials relating to or derived from electronic surveillance would harm national security." Id. at 1119. However, the Court has also held that "FISA preempts or displaces the state secrets privilege, but only in cases within the reach of its provisions." Id. at 1124. The issue raised by the Court at oral argument for the first time was whether Section 1806(f)'s procedure for determining the legality of electronic surveillance reaches all claims to enforce the "exclusive means" of regulating electronic surveillance that Congress established with the FISA Act--which now includes the Wiretap Act and the SCA in addition to title 50--or merely the subset of those claims placed in title 50. Plaintiffs believe that 1806(f)'s procedures apply to all aspects of Congress's "exclusive means" for regulating electronic surveillance, wherever the court must decide whether surveillance is legal and the government claims that disclosure of related material would harm national security. Plaintiffs' supplemental brief presents new information from the legislative history of the FISA Act and addresses the plain language and context of section 1806(f) more fully than counsel was able to do at oral argument. It also articulates the clear limiting principles within 1 PLAINTIFFS' ADMINISTRATIVE MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE SUPPLEMENTAL BRIEF ON THE SCOPE OF FISA ACT PREEMPTION CASE NO. C-08-4373-VRW 446553.02 Case3:08-cv-04373-VRW Document38 Filed08/03/09 Page3 of 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 section 1806(f) that restrict its scope to the problem Congress was attempting to solve--ensuring justiciability of surveillance hidden behind a claim of national security, regardless of the statutory footing for either the surveillance or the challenge brought to the surveillance. We believe that the supplemental brief will assist the Court as it considers the currently pending motion to dismiss. Dated: August 3, 2009 Respectfully submitted, By: /s/ ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION CINDY COHN (SBN 145997) LEE TIEN (SBN 148216) KURT OPSAHL (SBN 191303) KEVIN S. BANKSTON (SBN 217026) JAMES S. TYRE (SBN 083117) 454 Shotwell Street San Francisco, California 94110 Telephone: (415) 436-9333 Facsimile: (415) 436-9993 KEKER & VAN NEST, LLP RACHAEL E. MENY (SBN 178514) PAULA L. BLIZZARD (SBN 207920) MICHAEL S. KWUN (SBN 198945) AUDREY WALTON-HADLOCK (SBN 250574) 710 Sansome Street San Francisco, California 94111-1704 Telephone: (415) 391-5400 Facsimile: (415) 397-7188 RICHARD R. WIEBE (SBN 121156) LAW OFFICE OF RICHARD R. WIEBE 425 California Street, Suite 2025 San Francisco, California 94104 Telephone: (415) 433-3200 Facsimile: (415) 433-6382 THOMAS E. MOORE III (SBN 115107) THE MOORE LAW GROUP 228 Hamilton Avenue, 3rd Floor Palo Alto, California 94301 Telephone: (650) 798-5352 Facsimile: (650) 798-5001 Attorneys for Plaintiffs 2 446553.02 PLAINTIFFS' ADMINISTRATIVE MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE SUPPLEMENTAL BRIEF ON THE SCOPE OF FISA ACT PREEMPTION CASE NO. C-08-4373-VRW

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