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Assassination Archives and Research Center, et al. v. Central Intelligence Agency

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, No. 23-5064 · judgment December 7, 2023


Certiorari denied · June 24, 2024
Pre-decision estimate: 2% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Questions presented

  1. Whether the CIA may refuse to search and disclose its operational records that relate to the presence of a convicted Nazi assassin in the company of the owner of the Texas School Book Depository building at the time of the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963. There are conflicting decisions between the First and D.C. Circuits on this legal issue.

  2. Whether the CIA may ignore executive orders which by their plain text declassify records more than 25 and 50 years of age.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Daniel S. Alcorn
Attorney at Law

For respondent
Elizabeth B. Prelogar
Solicitor General

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Jun 24 2024
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Jun 04 2024
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/20/2024.
  3. May 24 2024
    Waiver of right of respondent Central Intelligence Agency to respond filed.
  4. May 08 2024
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due June 10, 2024)