Chekkouri v. Obama
Chekkouri v. Obama
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM OPINION ' AND ORDER
On September 17, 2015, the government notified the Court that it had released petitioner Younous Chekkouri and transferred him to the control of the Government of'Morocco. Since that time, petitioner has been detained in Morocco pending a decision by Moroccan authorities on whether to file charges against petitioner. On December 10, 2015, the government submitted an ex parte, in camera Supplemental Notice, which it also has designated as protected-information under the Protective Order' in this case [Dkt. No. 107], Petitioner has objected-to this submission as improper and- has filed a motion seeking limited disclosure of this filing to his counsel, which the government opposes. After careful consideration of the parties’ papers and the relevant legal authorities, the Court grants petitioner’s motion for -disclosure of the government’s ex parte filing.
Ex parte submissions “generally are disfavored because they conflict with a fundamental precept of our system of jus
The government asserts that disclosure of its ex parte submission, although unclassified, would harm “significant Government interests” and that the submission therefore falls within the second exception described in Abourezk. Opp. at 3. Although the Court appreciates that the filing was voluntary and intended to provide the Court with as much information as possible, it is unpersuaded that the government’s need for confidentiality in this instance outweighs the strong presumption against ex parte submissions.
For the foregoing reasons, it is hereby
ORDERED that petitioner’s motion to compel disclosure of the government’s ex parte, in camera submission [Dkt. No. 407] is GRANTED. The government is directed to disclose the submission to petitioner’s counsel on or before February 3, 2016.
SO ORDERED.
. Because the filing is unclassified, the Court need not consider whether the information is material to petitioner’s case. See Al Odah v. United States, 559 F.3d 539, 547 (D.C.Cir. 2009) (‘‘[Ajlthough a finding of materiality is a prerequisite to ordering disclosure of classified information, it is not a prerequisite to ordering disclosure of an unclassified substitution.”).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Younous CHEKKOURI v. Barack H. OBAMA
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published