Home Civil Liberties Protecting the Right of Public Access to Court Records and Stored Communications Act Warrant Materials

Protecting the Right of Public Access to Court Records and Stored Communications Act Warrant Materials

Last Updated: 04/22/2024
SamuelsonClinicCivilLiberties
Lawsuit on behalf of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press to unseal certain search warrant materials

On behalf of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the Samuelson Clinic filed a lawsuit in federal court in Minnesota, seeking unsealing of certain search warrant materials. Under the Stored Communications Act (“SCA”), the government can compel third-party electronic communication or remote computing service providers, such as Google, to disclose the contents of their subscribers’ communications, such as the content of their emails. The SCA requires the government to obtain a search warrant to access these communications, but the documents related to these warrants are often hidden from public view. The press and public have a strong interest in accessing these documents. This lawsuit requests that the District of Minnesota unseal recent and future SCA search warrant materials and dockets. It argues that the First Amendment and the common law require public access to these materials.

FACULTY: Catherine Crump | Megan Graham | Juliana DeVries
STUDENTS: Jonathan Abrams ’22, David Fang '21, Catherine Harris '21, Allan Holder '21, Caroline Soussloff '20, Schuyler Standley '21, Jennifer Sun ’23, Daniela del Rosario Wertheimer ’23, Henry Metro '23, Savannah Nuttall '23, and Samuelson Clinic legal intern Korica Simon
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