1 of 2 - ACLU of Northern California

Case M:06-cv-01791-VRW Document 254 Filed 04/20/2007 Page 2 of 3212345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728(U) TABLE OF CONTENTS(U) INTRODUCTION .......................................................0-J) BACKGROUND ......................................................... 7A. (U) The Plaintiffs’ Claims Against Verizon ........................... 7B. (U) The United States’ State Secrets Privilege Assertion .................9(U) ARGUMENT . . . . ...................................................... 12I. CtJ) WHERE STATE SECRETS ARE NEEDED TO RESOLVE A CASE,THE MATTER MUST BE DISMISSED .................................. 13II.III.A. (U) The State Secrets Privilege Bars Use of Privileged InformationRegardless of a Litigant’s Need .................................... 18B. (U) Where the State Secrets Are Central to the Resolution of aCase or Needed to Litigate the Claims and Defenses, the CaseCannot Proceed ................................................. 15C. (U) The Court in Hepting Misapplied the Standard of Review andFailed to Determine the Consequences of the Government’s PrivilegeAssertion ..................................................... 171. (U) The Court’s Application of the Standard of Review inHepting Was Erroneous .................................... 172. (U) The Court Failed to Assess the Consequences of theState Secrets Privilege in Hepting ............................20(U) THE UNITED STATES HAS PROPERLY ASSERTED THESTATE SECRETS PRIVILEGE IN THIS CASE ............................ 25(U) INFORMATION SUBJECT TO THE STATE SECRETS PRIVILEGEIS NECESSARY TO ADJUDICATE PLAINTIFFS’ CLAIMS AND, THUS,THIS ACTION CANNOT PROCEED .................................... 25Public Memorandum of the United Statesin Support of Motion to Dismiss or for SummaryJudgment, MDL No. 06-1791-VRWt