Participated in an amicus brief (with the Reporters Committee and other amici) filed with the Supreme Court of the United States in Edgar v. Haines. The brief supports a First Amendment challenge to the national security pre-publication review system, urging the Supreme Court to take up an appeal by the ACLU and Knight First Amendment Institute of a decision by the Fourth Circuit, which found no First Amendment violation. The amicus brief argues that in addition to the government employees constrained by the system, publishers are restrained as well. These individuals are particularly well-situated to inform the public about military and intelligence matters, and the attendant secrecy in these realms makes the free flow of information all the more important. The brief also argues that the Supreme Court’s 1980 decision in Snepp v. United States does not govern a challenge to the sprawling system in place today. [2021]
