Case: [Redacted] Non-U.S. Persons

[Redacted] | Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Filed Date: 2020

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Case Summary

For the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse collection of FISA matters, see our special collection. On September 27, 2021, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) approved applications by the U.S. government to conduct a physical search of the redacted targets (who were non-US persons) pursuant to Title III of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The method of the search was new, though the details have been redacted. Judge Rudolph Contreras was assigned to the case. T…

For the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse collection of FISA matters, see our special collection.

On September 27, 2021, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) approved applications by the U.S. government to conduct a physical search of the redacted targets (who were non-US persons) pursuant to Title III of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The method of the search was new, though the details have been redacted. Judge Rudolph Contreras was assigned to the case. The names of the targets and the docket number have been redacted.

The FISC held that this new search method counted as a physical search under FISA because it involved a search of "information, material, or property, under circumstances in which a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy." The court approved the search because Judge Contreras found probable cause that the intended targets of the proposed physical searches were agents acting for specific foreign powers. The FISC also established some limits on the search, including instructions to the FBI to destroy any data not determined to be related to the targets within 60 days.

This case is presumed closed.

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Summary Authors

Venesa Haska (2/2/2024)