Partial Victory in Patriot Act Case
By Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 10/01/2005
A federal judge ruled on September 9 in favor of the anonymous Connecticut library challenging a USA PATRIOT Act gag order (see News, LJ 9/15/05, p. 17ff.) but stayed the decision so the federal government could appeal, which it did, and an appeals court maintained the stay. U.S. District Court judge Janet Hall, based in Bridgeport, CT, had favored the argument by the American Civil Liberties Union that said that its client librarian, subject to an investigation seeking library records, wanted to participate in the public debate over the Patriot Act.
Federal prosecutors said that revealing the identity of the librarian and library organization could tip off suspects and jeopardize a federal investigation into terrorism or spying. Hall wrote in her decision in John Doe v. Gonzales, "The government may intend the nondisclosure provision to serve some purpose other than the suppression of speech. Nevertheless, it has the practical effect of silencing individuals with a constitutionally protected interest in speech and whose voices are particularly important in an ongoing national debate."
She cited former Attorney General John Ashcroft's comments accusing librarians of "hysteria" in fearing abuse of power and noted, "The potential for abuse is written into the statute: the very people who might have information regarding investigative abuses and overreaching are preemptively prevented from sharing that information with the public…."
