Supreme Court Report

Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →

Wikimedia Foundation v. National Security Agency/Central Security Service, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, No. 20-1191 · judgment September 15, 2021

Certiorari denied · February 21, 2023
Pre-decision estimate: 4% cert probability

Before the decision, roughly the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a circuit split argued in the petition, a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition), and a Fourth Circuit decision below.

Questions presented

  1. Does the state secrets privilege described by this Court in United States v. Reynolds and General Dynamics Corp. v. United States authorize courts to dismiss actions in their entirety where plaintiffs can prove their case without reliance on privileged evidence?

  2. If the state secrets privilege does in fact authorize courts to dismiss actions in their entirety where plaintiffs can prove their case without privileged evidence, may a court do so without first determining ex parte and in camera whether the privileged evidence establishes a valid defense?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Patrick Christopher Toomey
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation

For respondent
Elizabeth B. Prelogar
Solicitor General

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Amicus briefs
3 cert-stage

Linked docket
21A788

Proceedings

  1. Feb 21 2023
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Jan 25 2023
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/17/2023.
  3. Jan 24 2023
    Reply of petitioner Wikimedia Foundation filed. (Distributed)
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  4. Jan 06 2023
    Brief of respondents National Security Agency, et al. in opposition filed.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word Count
  5. Nov 28 2022
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including January 6, 2023.
  6. Nov 25 2022
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from November 30, 2022 to January 6, 2023, submitted to The Clerk.
    Main Document
  7. Oct 14 2022
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including November 30, 2022.
  8. Oct 13 2022
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from October 31, 2022 to November 30, 2022, submitted to The Clerk.
    Main Document
  9. Sep 29 2022
    Brief amici curiae of The Brennan Center for Justice, et al. filed.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  10. Sep 29 2022
    Brief amici curiae of Former Federal Judges filed.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  11. Sep 29 2022
    Brief amicus curiae of Professor Laura K. Donohue filed.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  12. Sep 13 2022
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including October 31, 2022.
  13. Sep 12 2022
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from September 29, 2022 to October 31, 2022, submitted to The Clerk.
    Main Document
  14. Aug 26 2022
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due September 29, 2022)
    PetitionCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  15. Jun 06 2022
    Application (21A788) granted by The Chief Justice extending the time to file until August 26, 2022.
  16. Jun 01 2022
    Application (21A788) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from June 27, 2022 to August 26, 2022, submitted to The Chief Justice.
    Main DocumentProof of Service