Nicholas Merrill
Encyclopedia
Nicholas Merrill is the founder of Calyx Internet Access and the Calyx Institute. He was the first person to file a constitutional challenge against the National Security Letters statute in the USA PATRIOT Act
. After receiving a National Security Letter
from the FBI, he sued the FBI and Department of Justice
and became the plaintiff in the lawsuit Doe v. Ashcroft (filed April 9, 2004 in the United States) filed on behalf of a formerly unknown ISP owner by the American Civil Liberties Union
and the New York Civil Liberties Union
against the U.S. federal government.
The letter - on FBI letterhead - requested that Merrill provide 16 categories of "electronic communication transactional records," including e-mail address, account number and billing information. Most of the other categories remain redacted by the FBI.
Merrill never did comply with the FBI's NSL request, and eventually - several years into the lawsuit - the FBI decided it no longer wanted the information it had demanded and dropped its demand for records. However for several years after dropping the demand, the FBI continued to prevent Merrill from publicly speaking about the NSL, or even from being publicly identified as the recipient of the NSL.
Because National Security Letters are accompanied by an open-ended, life-long gag order
, Merrill was unable to be identified in court papers as the plaintiff in the case and instead was referred to as "John Doe". As the years passed and the person who held the office of Attorney General
changed, the case was renamed from Doe v. Ashcroft to Doe v. Gonzales
, and then to Doe v. Mukasey, and finally Doe v. Holder. In fact, in 2007 the Washington Post made an exception to its policy against anonymous op-eds to publish an editorial by Merrill because of the gag order.
The Doe v. Ashcroft/Gonzales/Mukasey/Holder case yielded two significant rulings. The first was a September 2004 district court decision that the national security letter statute was unconstitutional, which prompted Congress to amend the law to allow a recipient to challenge the demand for records and the gag order. The second was a December 2008 appeals court decision that held that parts of the amended gag provisions violated the First Amendment and that, to avoid this, the FBI must prove to a court that disclosure would harm national security in cases where the recipient resists the gag order.
On August 10, 2010, after more than 6 years Nicholas Merrill was partially released from his gag order and allowed to reveal his identity, although he still can not reveal what information the FBI sought from him. This was 3 years after Merrill won The Roger Baldwin
'Medal of Liberty' award from the ACLU, which had to present the award to an empty chair at the time. Merrill has founded the nonprofit Calyx Institute to provide education and research on privacy issues.
He held the talk "The importance of resisting Excessive Government Surveillance" at the annual Chaos Communication Congress
2010 from the German Hacker
Group Chaos Computer Club
in which he told his story of the past 6 years.
USA PATRIOT Act
The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of the U.S. Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001...
. After receiving a National Security Letter
National Security Letter
A National Security Letter is a form of administrative subpoena used by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and reportedly by other U.S. Government Agencies including the Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Defense. They require no probable cause or judicial oversight...
from the FBI, he sued the FBI and Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
and became the plaintiff in the lawsuit Doe v. Ashcroft (filed April 9, 2004 in the United States) filed on behalf of a formerly unknown ISP owner by the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
and the New York Civil Liberties Union
New York Civil Liberties Union
The New York Civil Liberties Union is an civil rights organization in the United States. Founded in 1951 as the New York affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, it is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan organization with nearly 50,000 members across New York State.NYCLU's stated mission is to...
against the U.S. federal government.
The letter - on FBI letterhead - requested that Merrill provide 16 categories of "electronic communication transactional records," including e-mail address, account number and billing information. Most of the other categories remain redacted by the FBI.
Merrill never did comply with the FBI's NSL request, and eventually - several years into the lawsuit - the FBI decided it no longer wanted the information it had demanded and dropped its demand for records. However for several years after dropping the demand, the FBI continued to prevent Merrill from publicly speaking about the NSL, or even from being publicly identified as the recipient of the NSL.
Because National Security Letters are accompanied by an open-ended, life-long gag order
Gag order
A gag order is an order, sometimes a legal order by a court or government, other times a private order by an employer or other institution, restricting information or comment from being made public.Gag orders are often used against participants involved in a lawsuit or criminal trial...
, Merrill was unable to be identified in court papers as the plaintiff in the case and instead was referred to as "John Doe". As the years passed and the person who held the office of Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
changed, the case was renamed from Doe v. Ashcroft to Doe v. Gonzales
Doe v. Gonzales
John Doe v. Alberto R. Gonzales, was a case in which the American Civil Liberties Union along with the Library Connection and some librarians challenged Section 2709 of the Patriot Act. John Doe was the recipient of a National Security Letter that requested all information associated with one of...
, and then to Doe v. Mukasey, and finally Doe v. Holder. In fact, in 2007 the Washington Post made an exception to its policy against anonymous op-eds to publish an editorial by Merrill because of the gag order.
The Doe v. Ashcroft/Gonzales/Mukasey/Holder case yielded two significant rulings. The first was a September 2004 district court decision that the national security letter statute was unconstitutional, which prompted Congress to amend the law to allow a recipient to challenge the demand for records and the gag order. The second was a December 2008 appeals court decision that held that parts of the amended gag provisions violated the First Amendment and that, to avoid this, the FBI must prove to a court that disclosure would harm national security in cases where the recipient resists the gag order.
On August 10, 2010, after more than 6 years Nicholas Merrill was partially released from his gag order and allowed to reveal his identity, although he still can not reveal what information the FBI sought from him. This was 3 years after Merrill won The Roger Baldwin
Roger Nash Baldwin
Roger Nash Baldwin was one of the founders of the American Civil Liberties Union . He served as executive director of the ACLU until 1950....
'Medal of Liberty' award from the ACLU, which had to present the award to an empty chair at the time. Merrill has founded the nonprofit Calyx Institute to provide education and research on privacy issues.
He held the talk "The importance of resisting Excessive Government Surveillance" at the annual Chaos Communication Congress
Chaos Communication Congress
The Chaos Communication Congress is an annual meeting of the international hacker scene, organized by the Chaos Computer Club. The congress features a variety of lectures and workshops on technical and political issues....
2010 from the German Hacker
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
Group Chaos Computer Club
Chaos Computer Club
The Chaos Computer Club is an organization of hackers. The CCC is based in Germany and other German-speaking countries.The CCC describes itself as "a galactic community of life forms, independent of age, sex, race or societal orientation, which strives across borders for freedom of...
in which he told his story of the past 6 years.
External links
- http://www.aclu.org/FilesPDFs/nsl_decision.pdf
- http://www.democracynow.org/2010/8/11/gagged_for_6_years_nick_merrill
- http://www.law.duke.edu/publiclaw/civil/index.php?action=showcase&id=29
- https://litigation-essentials.lexisnexis.com/webcd/app?action=DocumentDisplay&crawlid=1&crawlid=1&doctype=cite&docid=6+PGH.+J.+Tech.+L.+%26+Pol'y+8&srctype=smi&srcid=3B15&key=32099640c7b53d75580c31af59e61709
- http://www.scribd.com/doc/19030726/Doe-vs-Mukasey-Decision