Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/10pdf/09-530.pdf
Page Number: 10.0

6 

NASA v. NELSON 

Opinion of the Court 

only  when  they  are  “relevant  and  necessary”  to  an  end
law.  5  U. S. C. 
“required  to  be  accomplished”  by 
§552a(e)(1).    Individuals  are  permitted  to  access  their 
records 
them. 
§§552a(d)(1),(2).  Subject  to  certain  exceptions,  the  Gov-
ernment  may  not  disclose  records  pertaining  to  an  indi-
vidual without that individual’s written consent.  §552a(b). 

amendments 

request 

and 

to 

C 
About two months before the October 2007 deadline for 
completing  the  NACI,  respondents  brought  this  suit, 
claiming,  as  relevant  here,  that  the  background-check 
process  violates  a  constitutional  right  to  informational 
privacy.  App.  82  (Complaint  for  Injunctive  and  Declara-
tory  Relief).4    The  District  Court  denied  respondents’ 
motion for a preliminary injunction, but the Ninth Circuit 
granted  an  injunction  pending  appeal,  506  F. 3d  713
(2007), and later reversed the District Court’s order.  The 
court  held  that  portions  of  both  SF–85  and  Form  42  are
likely  unconstitutional  and  should  be  preliminarily  en-
joined.  512 F. 3d 1134, vacated and superseded, 530 F. 3d 
865 (2008).

Turning  first  to  SF–85,  the  Court  of  Appeals  noted 
respondents’ concession “that most of the questions” on the 
form are “unproblematic” and do not “implicate the consti-
tutional right to informational privacy.”  530 F. 3d, at 878. 
But  the  court  determined  that  the  “group  of  questions 
concerning  illegal  drugs”  required  closer  scrutiny.    Ibid. 
Applying  Circuit  precedent,  the  court  upheld  SF–85’s
inquiries into recent involvement with drugs as “necessary 
to further the government’s legitimate interest” in combat-
ing  illegal-drug  use.  Id.,  at  879.  The  court  went  on  to 
hold,  however,  that  the  portion  of  the  form  requiring 

—————— 

4 Respondents  sought  to  represent  a  class  of  “JPL  employees  in  non-

sensitive positions.”  App. 79.  No class has been certified.