Patriot Act Gag Order Upheld

Connecticut libraries lost an emergency Supreme Court appeal Friday in their effort to be freed from a gag order and participate in a congressional debate over the Patriot Act.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg denied the appeal and offered an unusually detailed explanation of her decision.

Ginsburg said the American Civil Liberties Union had made reasonable arguments on behalf of its client, identified in a filing as the Library Connection, an association of libraries in Connecticut.

However, Ginsburg said that the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York should be given time to consider whether the Patriot Act, and its requirement of secrecy in records demands, is unconstitutional as applied to the libraries.

“A decision of that moment warrants cautious review,” she said.

The ACLU, backed by the American Library Assn., argued that a gag order prevented its client from taking part in debate on Capitol Hill about the Patriot Act, passed shortly after the 2001 terrorist attacks. Some key provisions of the legislation expire at the end of the year.