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Al-Haramain v. Obama

Al-Haramain v. Obama, 690 F.3d 1089 (9th Cir. 2012)[1] was a case before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California filed 28 February 2006 by the al-Haramain Foundation and its two attorneys concerning the NSA warrantless surveillance controversy.[2] The case withstood retroactive changes brought by the Congressional response to the NSA warrantless surveillance program.[3]

Background

In 2004 during proceedings to freeze al-Haramain Foundation, an Oregon Nonprofit Corporation, the government inadvertently gave the organization classified documents that suggest the foundation was subject to electronic surveillance. Al-Harmain and their two attorneys filed a lawsuit claiming violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act via unlawful surveillance, based on the classified documents that the government gave Al-Harmain. The district court found that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act preempted the state secrets privilege and waived sovereign immunity for damages under 50 U.S.C.S. § 1810.[1]

Opinion

On March 31, 2010, Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker granted partial summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs,[4] because 50 U.S.C.S. § 1810 has no explicit waiver of sovereign immunity, and on 21 December awarded $2.5 million in attorneys' fees and about $41,000 to two of the three plaintiffs.[5][6] The court affirm the dismissal of claims against Mueller.

The district court was reversed and the case was subsequently dismissed by Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on August 7, 2012.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Al-Haramain v. Obama, 690 F.3d 1089 (9th Cir. 2012).Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ^ Pantesco, Joshua (February 28, 2006). "Islamic charity sues to shut down NSA warrantless wiretapping program". JURIST (University of Pittsburgh School of Law). Archived from the original on January 11, 2011.
  3. ^ Kaste, Martin (June 4, 2009). "Judge Tosses Warrantless Wiretap Cases". National Public Radio.
  4. ^ Glenn, Matt (April 1, 2010). "Federal judge rules for Islamic charity in NSA wiretapping case". JURIST (University of Pittsburgh School of Law). Archived from the original on January 11, 2011.
  5. ^ "Walker Awards $41K Damages, $2.5 Million Fee in Wiretap Case". The Recorder.
  6. ^ In Re National Security Agency Telecommunications Records, Al-Haramain et. al v. Obama et. al, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

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