The non-disclosure provision of National Security Letters violates the First Amendment as a prior restraint, and it is nonseverable from the rest of the statute. Therefore, the statute is unconstitutional and NSL’s may not be issued. The order is stayed for 90 days to give the Court of Appeals the opportunity to address it. In re National Security Letter, No. C 11-02173 SI (N.D. Cal. March 15, 2013):
For the reasons discussed below, the Court finds that the NSL nondisclosure and judicial review provisions suffer from significant constitutional infirmities. Further, these infirmities cannot be avoided by “conforming” the language of the statute to satisfy the Constitution’s demands, because the existing statutory language and the legislative history of the statutes block that result. As such, the Court finds section 2709(c) and 3511(b) unconstitutional, but stays the judgment in order for the Ninth Circuit to consider the weighty questions of national security and First Amendment rights presented in this case.
See eff.org: National Security Letters Are Unconstitutional, Federal Judge Rules; Wired.com.
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