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United States v. Zubaydah
| Docket No. | Op. Below | Argument | Opinion | Vote | Author | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20-827 | 9th Cir. | Oct 6, 2021 | Mar 3, 2022 | 7-2 | Breyer | OT 2021 |
Holding: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit’s judgment that the district court erred in dismissing Zubaydah’s discovery request on the basis of the state secrets privilege is reversed, and the case is remanded with instructions to dismiss Zubaydah’s current discovery application.
Judgment: Reversed and remanded, 7-2, in an opinion by Justice Breyer on March 3, 2022. Justice Breyer delivered the opinion of the court, except as to Parts II-B-2 and III. Chief Justice Roberts joined the opinion in full. Justices Kavanaugh and Barrett joined as to all but Part II-B-2. Justice Kagan joined as to all but Parts III and IV and the judgment of dismissal. Justices Thomas and Alito joined Part IV. Thomas filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment, in which Alito joined. Kavanaugh filed an opinion concurring in part, in which Barrett joined. Kagan filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part. Justice Gorsuch filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justice Sotomayor joined.
SCOTUSblog Coverage
- Fractured majority allows government to withhold information on torture at CIA black sites (Amy Howe, March 3, 2022)
- Announcement of opinions for Thursday, March 3 (complete) (Angie Gou, March 3, 2022)
- Detainee can testify about his treatment at CIA black site, government tells justices (Amy Howe, October 17, 2021)
- Argument over state secrets and CIA black sites takes unexpected turn in final few minutes (Amy Howe, October 6, 2021)
- Justices will consider whether details on post-9/11 CIA black sites are state secrets (Amy Howe, October 5, 2021)
- Cases on Boston Marathon bomber, CIA secrets headline October argument calendar (Amy Howe, July 13, 2021)
- Justices add new cases on state secrets, free speech (Amy Howe, April 26, 2021)
- Sovereign immunity, legislative censure and another habeas question (John Elwood, April 21, 2021)
- Two Sixth Amendment claims and an ERISA lawsuit (John Elwood, April 15, 2021)
- An important right-to-carry case, and another close look at a Sixth Circuit decision granting habeas relief (John Elwood, March 31, 2021)
- Four new relists include cases on abortion and state secrets (John Elwood, March 24, 2021)
- Two cases on the state-secrets privilege (Andrew Hamm, January 22, 2021)
| Date | Proceedings and Orders |
|---|---|
| Dec 17 2020 | Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due January 19, 2021) |
| Jan 06 2021 | Motion to extend the time to file a response from January 19, 2021 to February 11, 2021, submitted to The Clerk. |
| Jan 08 2021 | Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including February 11, 2021. |
| Feb 11 2021 | Brief of respondents Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn, et al. in opposition filed. |
| Mar 03 2021 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/19/2021. |
| Mar 04 2021 | Reply of petitioner United States filed. (Distributed) |
| Mar 22 2021 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/26/2021. |
| Mar 29 2021 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/1/2021. |
| Apr 12 2021 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/16/2021. |
| Apr 19 2021 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/23/2021. |
| Apr 26 2021 | Petition GRANTED. |
| May 07 2021 | Motion for an extension of time to file the briefs on the merits filed. |
| May 10 2021 | Motion to dispense with printing the joint appendix filed by petitioner United States. |
| May 11 2021 | Motion to extend the time to file the briefs on the merits granted. The time to file the joint appendix and petitioner's brief on the merits is extended to and including July 2, 2021. The time to file respondents' brief on the merits is extended to and including August 13, 2021. |
| May 24 2021 | Motion to dispense with printing the joint appendix filed by petitioner GRANTED. |
| Jul 02 2021 | Brief of petitioner United States filed. |
| Jul 13 2021 | ARGUMENT SET FOR Wednesday, October 6, 2021. |
| Jul 28 2021 | Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 9th Circuit. |
| Jul 29 2021 | The record from the U.S.C.A. 9th Circuit is electronic and located on PACER. |
| Aug 03 2021 | CIRCULATED |
| Aug 13 2021 | Brief of respondents Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn, et al. filed. (Distributed) |
| Aug 17 2021 | Brief amici curiae of Council on American-Islamic Relations filed. (Distributed corrected brief on 8/31/21). |
| Aug 17 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of Council on American-Islamic Relations filed with correction. (Distributed) |
| Aug 19 2021 | Brief amici curiae of Evidence Law Professors filed. (Distributed) |
| Aug 19 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of Current and Former U.N. Special Rapporteurs filed. (Distributed) |
| Aug 19 2021 | Brief amici curiae of American Civil Liberties Union and Counsel for Ammar al Baluchi filed. (Distributed) |
| Aug 20 2021 | Brief amici curiae of Human Rights Organizations filed. (Distributed) |
| Aug 20 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of Electronic Frontier Foundation filed. (Distributed) |
| Aug 20 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of Center for Justice and Accountability filed. (Distributed) |
| Aug 20 2021 | Brief amici curiae of Former Federal Judges filed. (Distributed) |
| Aug 20 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows filed. (Distributed) |
| Aug 20 2021 | Brief amici curiae of Torture Survivors Maher Arar, et al., filed. (Distributed) |
| Aug 20 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of Public Citizen filed. (Distributed) |
| Aug 20 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of Center for Constitutional Rights filed. (Distributed) |
| Aug 20 2021 | Brief amici curiae of National Religious Campaign Against Torture, et al. filed. (Distributed) |
| Aug 20 2021 | Brief amici curiae of Physicians for Human Rights, et al. filed. (Distributed) |
| Aug 20 2021 | Brief amici curiae of The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and The Rendition Project filed. (Distributed) |
| Aug 20 2021 | Brief amici curiae of Floyd Abrams Institute for Freedom of Expression, et al. filed. (Distributed) |
| Aug 20 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of Bilal Abdul Kareem filed. (Distributed) |
| Aug 20 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of Coalition of Human Rights Scholars filed. (Distributed) |
| Sep 03 2021 | Letter noting withdrawal of Judge James T. Giles and Judge Stephen M. Orlofsky from amici curiae brief filed on behalf of Former Federal Judges. |
| Sep 13 2021 | Reply of petitioner United States filed. (Distributed) |
| Oct 06 2021 | Argued. For petitioner: Brian H. Fletcher, Acting Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. For respondents: David F. Klein, Washington, D. C. |
| Oct 15 2021 | Letter of petitioner United States, per oral argument, filed. (Distributed) |
| Oct 25 2021 | Letter of Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn, et al. not accepted for filing. (November 12, 2021 - no service on counsel of record indicated, paper copy not received). |
| Nov 10 2021 | Respondents' letter in response to petitioner's 10/15/21 letter filed. (Distributed) |
| Mar 03 2022 | Judgment REVERSED and case REMANDED. Breyer, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, except as to Parts II-B-2 and III. Roberts, C. J., joined that opinion in full, Kavanaugh and Barrett, JJ., joined as to all but Part II-B-2, Kagan, J., joined as to all but Parts III and IV and the judgment of dismissal, and Thomas and Alito, JJ., joined Part IV. Thomas, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment, in which Alito, J., joined. Kavanaugh, J., filed an opinion concurring in part, in which Barrett, J., joined. Kagan, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part. Gorsuch, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Sotomayor, J., joined. |
| Apr 04 2022 | JUDGMENT ISSUED. |
