In 1976, the ACLU of Western Tennessee, along with two Memphis residents, filed this case against the Memphis Police Department in the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Plaintiffs claimed that the Memphis police interfered with their First Amendment rights to free speech and association when it gathered "political intelligence."

On September 14, 1978, the court (Judge Robert M. McRae) entered a Consent Order prohibiting the police from engaging in any sort of political intelligence gathering.

Thirty-two years later, the Police Department published a policy revision prohibiting political surveillance. It also published the 1978 Consent Decree on its website.