| United States v. Zubaydah | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued October 6, 2021 Decided March 3, 2022 | |
| Full case name | United States v. Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn, aka Abu Zubaydah, et al. |
| Docket no. | 20-827 |
| Citations | 595 U.S. ___ (more) |
| Argument | Oral argument |
| Decision | Opinion |
| Questions presented | |
| Whether the Court of Appeals erred when it rejected the United States’ assertion of the state-secrets privilege based on the court’s own assessment of potential harms to the national security, and required discovery to proceed further under 28 U.S.C. 1782(a) against former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) contractors on matters concerning alleged clandestine CIA activities. | |
| Holding | |
| The state secrets privilege applies to information that could confirm or deny the existence of a CIA detention site in Poland. United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded with instructions to dismiss application for discovery under §1782. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Breyer (except as to Parts II–B–2 and III), joined by Roberts, Kavanaugh, Barrett; Kagan (all but Parts III and IV, and the judgment of dismissal); Thomas, Alito (Part IV) |
| Plurality | Breyer (Part III), joined by Roberts, Kavanaugh, Barrett |
| Plurality | Breyer (Part II-B-2), joined by Roberts, Kagan |
| Concurrence | Thomas (in part), joined by Alito |
| Concurrence | Kavanaugh (in part), joined by Barrett |
| Concur/dissent | Kagan |
| Dissent | Gorsuch, joined by Sotomayor |
| Laws applied | |
| 28 U.S.C. § 1782 | |
United States v. Zubaydah, 595 U.S. ___ (2022), was a United States Supreme Court case related to the state secrets privilege.