BR 14-01 Notice of Order, Dated March 21, 2014, Entered by the USDC ND CA (FISC 2014)
Annotate this CaseThis opinion or order relates to an opinion or order originally issued on March 7, 2014.
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n "- ., • ,.., ') 2lli'1l1i•i~ '- 7 f UNITED STATES FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE CO~!E.£:,i:;~ WASHINGTON,D.C. IN REAPPLICATION OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION FOR AN ORDER REQUIRING THE PRODUCTION OF TANGIBLE THINGS r· ; ._L.i .. \ "' r I :A u I~: ru···v-,.·. rt 1-LY:::J HALL ( · -~ '· r .. ,._,' . "J 1,, r; ,_· ;1T Docket Number: BR 14-01 NOTICE OF ORDER, DATED MARCH 21, 2014, ENTERED BY THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA IN THE MATIER OF FIRST UNITARIAN CHURCH OF LOS ANGELES, ET AL., V. NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY, ET AL., NO. C 13-03287 JSW The United States of America, through the undersigned Department of Justice attorneys, hereby notifies this Court, as required by the Opinion and Order issued by this Court on March 12, 2014 in the above-captioned docket number, of the entry on March 21, 2014 of the attached Order in First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles, et al., v. National Security Agency, et al., No. C 13-03287-JSW (N.D. Cal.), an action challenging the legality of the National Security Agency's ("NSA") bulk telephony metadata collection program, and seeking, among other things, to permanently enjoin the Government from continuing to acquire telephony metadata ("BR metadata") of plaintiffs' calls, and the purging of all BR metadata of plaintiffs' calls heretofore acquired. The Government has determined that, absent further relief from the District Court, it is necessary in light of the attached Order to preserve BR metadata beyond five years (60 months) after its initicil collection for the purpose of the litigation in First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles. The Government will take such actions concerning BR metadata as are permitted by the Opinion and Order of this Court issued on March 12, 2014 in docket number BR 14-01, pending resolution of First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles, further relief from the District Court1, or further order of this Court. Respectfully submitted, John P. Carlin Acting Assistant Attorney General Stuart F. Delery Assistant Attorney General Tashina Gauhar Deputy Assistant Attorney General Kathleen R. Hartnett Deputy Assistant Attorney General National Security Division U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice 1 Consistent with this Court's March 12, 2014 Opinion and Order, should the Government determine further relief from the District Court's order is warranted, such relief will be sought in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California with appropriate notice to this Court. 2 Case3:13-cv-03287-JSW DocumenU03 Filed03/21/14 Pagel of 4 1 2 3 4 5 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 6 7 ·FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 8 9 10 t: ::s ai ti "t . 'S s :~ VJ fll 1:$ Q G 12 13 v. NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY, ET AL., 14 .s .s~ ~~ ..... = 17 ~ 18 00 "'CS ... Plaintiffs, 11 15 OJ .... t! FIRST UNITARIAN CHURCH OF LOS ANGELES, ET AL., 16 1.9 No. C 13-03287 JSW ORDER Defendants. ~--~--------------------------'' Upon consideration of the parties' submissions and good cause appearing, the Court hereby orders as follows: A. The Court reminds all parties oftheir duty to preserve evidence that may be . 20 relevant to this action. The duty extends to documents, data and tangible things in the 21 possession, custody and control of the parties to this action, and any employees, agents, 22 contractors, carriers, bailees or other non-parties who possess materials reasonably anticipated 23 to be subject to discovery in this action. Counsel are under an obligation to exercise efforts to 24 identify and notify such non-parties, including employees of corporation or institutional parties. 25 B. "Documents, data and tangible things: is to be interpreted broadly to include 26 writings, records, files, correspondence, reports, memoranda, calendars, diaries, minutes, 27 electronic messages, voicemail, e-mail, telephone message records or log~, computer and 28 network activity logs, hard drives, backup data, removable computer storage media such as Case3:13-cv-03287-JSW Document103 Filed03/21/14 Page2 of 4 1 tapes, disks and cards, printouts, document image files, web pages, databases, spreadsheets, 2 software, books, ledgers, journals, orders, invoices, bills, vouchers, checks, statements, 3 worksheets, summaries, compilations, computations, charts, diagrams, graphic presentations, 4 drawings, films, digital or chemical process photographs, video; phonographic, tape or digital 5 recordings or transcripts thereof, drafts, jottings and notes. Information that serves to identify, 6 locate, or link such materials, such as file inventories, file folders, indicies and metadata, is also 7 included un this definition. 8 t: = ... Q u • ·~ :Se ~ .~ .~ i:i G C. ''Preservation" is to be interpreted broadly to accomplish the goal of maintaining 9 the integrity of all documents, data and tangible things reasonably anticipates to be sul>ject to 10 discovery under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26, 45 and 56(e) in this action. Preservation 11 includes taldng steps to prevent the partial or full des1ruction, alteration, testing, deletion, 12 shredding, incineration, wiping, relocation, migration, theft, or mutation of such material, as 13 well as negligent or intentional handling that would make material incomplete or inaccessible. 14 D. 1bis order extends to information relevant to the subject matter involved in this 15 action or reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence under the ....... "" 16 currently operative Complaint in this case. The key allegations of the Complaint with regard to 17 evidence preservation are: ~ 18 ~ ~~z ... rll " "CS -s ~ ls = 3. This lawsuit challenges an illegal and unconstitutional program of dragnet electronic surveillance, specifically the bulk acquisition, collection, storage, retention, and searching of telephone communications information (the "Associational Tracking Program") conducted by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the other defendants (collectively, "Defendants"). 5. The communications information that Defendants collect in the Associational Tracking Program is retained and stored by Defendants in one or more databases. The Program collects information concerning all calls wholly within the United States, including local telephone calls, as well as all calls between the United States and abroad, regardless of a connection to international terrorism, reasonable suspicion of criminality, or any other form of wrongdoing. 1bis information is stored for at least five years. Defendants have indiscriminately obtained, and stored the telephone communications inforniation of millions of ordinary Americans as part of the Associational Tracking Program. 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 2 Case3:13-cv-03287-JSW Document103 Filed03/21/14 Page3 of 4 I 53. The telephone communications information Defendants collect and acquire m bulk as part of the Associational Tracking Program is retained and stored by Defendants in one or more databases. These databases contain call information for all, or the vast rrutority, of calls wholly within the United States, including local telep one calls, and calls between the UnitedSbltes an4 abro~ for a period of at least five years. Defendants have indiscriminately obtained arid stored-the telephone communications information of millions of ordinary Americans, including Plaintiffs, their members, and staffs, as part of the Associational Tracking Program. 55. Through the Associational Tracking Program, Defendants have collected, acquired, and retained, and continue to collect, acquire, and retain, bulk communications information of telephone calls made and received by Plaintiffs, their members, and their staffs. This information is otherwise private. 60. Defendants' bulk collection, acquisition, and retention of the telephone communications information of Plaintiffs, their members, and their staffs is done (a) without probable cause or reasonable suspicion to believe that Plaintiffs, their members, and their staffs have committed or are about to commit any crime or engage in any international terrorist activi~; (b) without probable cause or reasonable suspicion to believe that P aintiffs, · their members, or their staffs are foreign powers or agents of foreign powers; and (c) without probable cause or reasonable suspicion to believe that the communications of Plaintiffs, their members, and their staffs contain or pertain to foreign intelligence information, or relate to an investigation to obtain foreign intelligence information. . 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 t: 11 8=·~ 12 -~ (; 13 .~ 0 14 ~ 0 - !§ ....... - j ~. . cu t!~ r:l.l -~., "O ii .... = ~ ~ ~ ~"" 15 16 64. 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 66. .Defendants' searching of the telephone communications information of Plaintiffs is done without lawful authoriz.ation, probable cause, and/or individualized suspicion. It is done in violation of statutory and constitutional limitations and in excess of statutory and constitutionw authority. Any judicial, administrative, or executive authorization (including any business records order issued pursuant to 50 U.S.C. § 1861) of the Associational Tracking Program or of the searching of the communications information of Plaintiffs is unlawful and invalid. Defendants, and each of them, have authorized, approved, supervised, performed, caused, participated in, aided, abetted, counseled, commanded, induced, procured, enabled, contributed to, facilitated, directed, controlled, assisted in, or conspired in the Associational Tracking Program and in the search or use of the telephone communications information of Plaintiffs, their members, and their staff. Defendants have committed these acts willfully, knowingly, and intentionally. Defendants continue to commit these acts and will continue to do so absent an order of this Court enjoining and restraining them from doing so. _ _ 26 27 28 3 i j" ! .! I I i I I I ·1 I II ! Case3:13-cv-03287-JSW Document103 Filed03/21/14 . Page4 of 4 1 E. 2 government practices of any party involve the routine destruction, recycling, relocation, or 3 mutation ·of such materials and, if so, direct the party, to the extent practicable for pendency of 4 this order, either to 5 (1) halt such business or government practices; 6 (2) sequester.or remove such material from the business or government practices; or 7 (3) arrange.for the preservation of complete and accurate duplicates or copies of such material, suitable for later discovery if requested. 8 9 ...... 8=·a ....b~a'S flJ ti I'll G E Ji~ ~ 1; ~ ..... :z .rJJ. ....s= 0 ""' .....~ .a13 p ~ Counsel are directed to inquire of their respective clients if the business or Counsel representing each party shall, not later than April 21, 2014, submit to the Court 10 under seal and pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11, a statement that the directive in 11 Paragraph E has been carried out. 12 13 14 IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: March 21, 2014 UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 4
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