Certiorari Granted 12/15/2005 Argument Date 04/27/2004
Issue Whether the Federal Advisory Committee Act can be construed consistent with the Constitution, principles of separation of powers, and this Court’s decisions governing judicial review of Executive Branch actions, to authorize broad discovery of the process by which the Vice President and other senior advisors gathered information to advise the President on important national policy matters, based on an unsupported allegation in a complaint that the advisory group was not constituted as the President expressly directed and the advisory group itself reported. The watchdog group Judicial Watch and an environmental organization, the Sierra Club, had won permission from a lower court to gather records related to the energy task force.
Case Summary & Additional Resources
Lawyers For Petitioner Theodore Olson, Solicitor General
For Respondent Alan B. Morrison, Public Citizen Litigation Group (for Sierra Club)
Briefs For Petitioner Petitioner's Certiorari Petition
For Respondent Brief in Opposition to granting cert. (for Sierra Club)
News Stories & Commentary AP, " High court agrees to hear Cheney energy dispute"
AP, "High court asked to keep Cheney records secret"
Charles Lane, "High Court Will Review Ruling On Cheney Task Force Records," Washington Post, December 16, 2003, sect. A, p. 3
Saphire, William, "Behind Closed Doors," New York Times, December 17, 2003, sect. A, p. 35
Opinion - Lower Court In re Richard B. Cheney (D.C. Cir., 2003)
Other Free Expression Policy Project Overview
Judicial Watch, "Judicial Watch Will Argue Before the High Court For 'Open Government'"
Lower Court DC Circuit Lower Court Ruling Federal District Court ordered release of documents from vice president's energy task force.