| Detroit Free Press v. Ashcroft | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Court | United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit |
| Full case name | DETROIT FREE PRESS, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. John ASHCROFT, et al., Defendants-Appellants. |
| Decided | August 26, 2002 |
| Citations | Detroit Free Press v. Ashcroft, No. 02-1437 (6th Cir. Apr. 19, 2002) |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting | Damon Keith, Martha Craig Daughtrey, Carr |
| Case opinions | |
| Affirmed Conviction 3-0 | |
Detroit Free Press v. Ashcroft
editThis will be the lede.
Background
editDuring the aftermath of the September 11 Attacks, the US launched an effort to counter terrorist activity, which included limiting who could attend the deportation hearings of foreign aliens. Under the lead of Attorney General John Aashcroft, the Chief Immigration Judge Michael Creppy directed all immigration judges to close to the public and the press all immigration hearings that were thought to be of "special interest" to the 9/11 investigation.[1] Special interest cases were defined as "those where the alien is suspected of having connections to, or information about, terrorist organizations that are plotting against the United States."[1] These cases were intended to be handled "in secret, closed off from the public" [2] to uphold a "compelling government interest" of national security. Officials then closed the cases to any public or press and removed them from the court’s docket, eliminating public records of the case. This rule of closed deportation hearings became known as the "Creppy Directive."[1]
Facts
editOn December 14, 2001, Rabih Haddad, a Lebanese national, was arrested after his temporary Visa had expired. He was operating an Islamic charity that was suspected to be channeling funds to a terrorist organization. In light of the recent September 11 Attacks and the Creppy Directive, the Government labeled his case as special interest. Haddad was then denied bail and detained, and his case was closed from public and the press. Believing this closure to be a violation to First Amendment rights to speech and press, Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, Metro Times Inc. (the Newspaper Plaintiff’s), Haddad, and Michigan Representative John Coyers filed a suit against John Ashcroft, Michael Creppy, and Immigration Judge Elizabeth Hacker claiming that the Creppy Directive was unconstitutional.