NACDL - First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles, et al. v. National Security Agency, et al.

First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles, et al. v. National Security Agency, et al.

Brief of Amicus Curiae of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles, et al. v. National Security Agency, et al.

Case Details

Case No.: 3:13-cv-03287-JSW
Jurisdiction: N.D. Cal.

Key Topics in the Case

First Amendment | Right to Counsel | White Collar | Work Product Doctrine | Confidentiality | Attorney-Client Privilege | Mass Indiscriminate Seizure of Telephony Records | Right of Association | Minimization Requirements | FISA

Documents

First-Unitarian-Church-of-Los-Angeles,-et-al-v-National-Security-Agency,-et-al-Amicus.pdf

Wholesale collection of telephony records by the government deprives clients of their right to counsel by vitiating the confidentiality of attorney-client communications and attorney files. The strong protections afforded the confidentiality of legal work include the attorney-client privilege, work product doctrine and the duty of confidentiality. Bulk seizure violates confidentiality rules and impairs the right to a defense. The government’s current practices eviscerate FISA’s relevance and minimization requirements.