In an opinion issued late October 7, Ginsburg said she took into account the fact that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Manhattan “will hear argument promptly and render its decision with appropriate care and dispatch” in an expedited appeals process. She also cited the original district court’s original decision to lift the gag order essentially “held unconstitutional—as applied to the facts of his case—a provision of an Act of Congress. A decision of that moment warrants cautious review.”
Deborah Caldwell-Stone, deputy director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, told American Libraries that “ALA is disappointed with the decision. It would have been extraordinary for her to grant the motion, but we believe these are extraordinary circumstances, given the current debate surrounding the Patriot Act.”
Posted October 7, 2005.