Share
The Supreme Court sided unanimously with the Biden administration Friday and reversed a lower court decision that had allowed a lawsuit by Muslim men claiming religious bias by the FBI to go forward. But the justices’ decision did not end the case.
The government had claimed allowing the lawsuit to go forward could reveal national security secrets. The high court, however, didn’t decide whether that was the case or whether the case should have been dismissed.
Instead, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that a federal appeals court had made an error when looking at the case. He said that the appeals court was wrong to conclude that the longstanding “state secrets” privilege, which protects the government from having to reveal certain information, was altered by Congress’ passage of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. As a result, the court sent the case back for further review.
Government Claimed ‘State Secrets’ at Risk
The case the high court was considering involves a group of three men from Southern California. They filed a class action lawsuit claiming the FBI spied on them and hundreds of others in a surveillance operation that began several years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The men, represented by lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union and others, claimed religious discrimination and violations of other rights, saying they were spied on solely because of their faith.
A lower court ended the case after the government said allowing the case to go forward could reveal “state secrets” — whom the government was investigating and why. But an appeals court reversed that decision in 2019, saying the lower court first should have privately examined the evidence the government said was state secrets.
Before the Biden administration took over, the Trump administration had also urged the court to rule against the group.
The case the court decided was one of two state secrets cases that the court heard arguments on in the fall. In the other case, which the court decided Thursday, the justices also sided with the government. There, the justices ruled to dismiss a case involving a Guantanamo Bay detainee captured after the Sept. 11 attacks and tortured by the CIA abroad who had sought information about his treatment.
RELATED TOPICS:
Fresno County Repeat DUI Offender Sentenced to 15 Years to Life for Deadly Crash
5 hours ago
Venezuelan Little League Team Denied Entry to US Over Travel Ban
5 hours ago
Fresno Seals Deal with Police Union. No Deal Yet With Firefighters.
5 hours ago
North Korea Says Trump Must Accept New Nuclear Reality
5 hours ago
Fresno Home Suffers Major Damage in Saturday Night Fire, Family Cat Rescued
7 hours ago
Senator to Unveil Aviation Safety Bill on Eve of Fatal Crash Hearing
8 hours ago
Fox Business News Host Throws Shade at Merced Over High-Speed Rail
8 hours ago
Trump Says He Turned Down Invitation to Epstein’s Island
8 hours ago
Two Arrested in Dollar General Burglary in Fowler, Third Suspect at Large
3 hours ago
Categories

Two Arrested in Dollar General Burglary in Fowler, Third Suspect at Large

New York City Mayor Says ‘Active Shooter’ Incident Taking Place in Manhattan

Shooting Outside Casino in Reno, Nevada, Leaves 3 Victims Dead, 2 Critically Wounded

Fresno County Repeat DUI Offender Sentenced to 15 Years to Life for Deadly Crash

Venezuelan Little League Team Denied Entry to US Over Travel Ban

Fresno Seals Deal with Police Union. No Deal Yet With Firefighters.
