| Court rules names secret { June 17 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4625-2003Jun17.htmlhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4625-2003Jun17.html
Court Rules Sept. 11 Arrest Names Can Be Secret
Reuters Tuesday, June 17, 2003; 10:58 AM
By James Vicini
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government can keep secret the names of hundreds of people arrested and detained after the Sept. 11, 2001, hijacked plane attacks, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday.
The three-judge panel dealt a setback to more than 20 civil liberties and other groups that invoked the Freedom of Information Act, a law that allows for disclosure of certain government records, to challenge the secret arrests.
The groups also argued the First Amendment free-speech rights required release of the information, a position rejected by the appeals court.
"We conclude that the government was entitled to withhold the names of those detained for immigration violations and as material witnesses during the investigation," the federal appeals court in Washington said.
It also said the government could keep secret "the dates and locations of arrest, detention and release of all detainees, including those charged with federal crimes; and the names of counsel for detainees."
The Justice Department has said it must keep secret the identities of those who were jailed because revealing their names might help Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.
The appeals court overturned a ruling by a federal judge last year that the government must release the names of those arrested and detained, as well as the names of the attorneys representing them.
"We will not convert the First Amendment right of access to criminal judicial proceedings into a requirement that the government disclose information compiled during the exercise of a quintessential executive power -- the investigation and prevention of terrorism," Judge David Sentelle wrote.
"While the name of any individual detainee may appear innocuous or trivial, it could be of great use to al Qaeda in plotting future terrorist attacks or intimidating witnesses in the present investigation," he said.
Sentelle was joined by Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson.
Judge David Tatel dissented, saying the ruling disregarded "settled principles governing the release of government records" and adding that the government had "vague, poorly explained arguments for withholding broad categories of information about the detainees."
The case was one of a number of legal challenges to U.S. government actions taken as part of the anti-terrorism efforts after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, which killed 3,000 people.
© 2003 Reuters
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