Complex Litigation

NEWS; Vol. 24; No. 17; Pg. B9

Several civil liberties organizations have filed a Freedom of Information suit against the U.S. Department of Justice, seeking information on the hundreds of people arrested and detained in the weeks following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Plaintiffs include the Center for National Security Studies, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the American Immigration Law Foundation, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Amnesty International USA, the Arab-American Institute, the Asian-American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Council on American Islamic Relations, the First Amendment Foundation, Human Rights Watch, the Multiracial Activist, the Nation magazine, the People for the American Way Foundation, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the World Organization Against Torture USA. The plaintiffs’ attorneys are Arthur B. Spitzer of the ACLU National Capital Area Office in Washington, D.C., and David L. Sobel, also of Washington.

The case is before Judge Gladys Kessler. Center for National Security Studies v. Department of Justice, No. 1:01cv2500 (D.D.C. Dec. 5).