Source: http://il.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20060130_0000058.C07.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2017-02-23 16:17:32
Document Index: 752961177

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 552', '§ 552', '§ 552', '§ 552', '§ 552', '§ 552', '§ 552', '§ 552', '§ 552', '§ 552', '§ 552', '§ 552', '§ 552', '§ 201', '§ 201', '§ 552', '§ 552']

| Bassiouni v. Federal Bureau of Investigation
MAHMOUD C. BASSIOUNI, ALSO KNOWN AS CHERIF BASSIOUNI, PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT,v.FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, DEFENDANT-APPELLEE.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. No. 02 C 8918- Joan Humphrey Lefkow, Judge.
A. The Privacy Act-An Overview
Under the Privacy Act, agencies, such as the FBI, that maintain "a system of records"*fn1 concerning individuals are required to do so "with such accuracy, relevance, timeliness, and completeness as is reasonably necessary to assure fairness to the individual." Id. § 552a(e)(5). In addition to the accuracy requirement, agencies are prohibited from maintaining certain types of information in those records, including information "describing how any individual exercises rights guaranteed by the First Amendment." Id. § 552a(e)(7). The prohibition on maintaining First Amendment-related records, however, does not apply when those records are "pertinent to and within the scope of an authorized law enforcement activity." Id.*fn2 The Act does not define a "law enforcement activity," and the phrase does not appear elsewhere in the statute.
In addition to the general exemption provision, agencies may exempt record systems from specific sections of the Act if the records are maintained "for law enforcement purposes." Id. § 552a(k)(2). The amendment process of § 552a(d) is among those that may be exempted. Id. § 552a(k).*fn3 Yet, although an agency may exempt its record system from the amendment process, the agency still may not keep records of activity that is protected by the First Amendment.
The Privacy Act provides limited civil remedies for individuals seeking redress for an agency's noncompliance. The Act allows an individual to seek redress in federal court if an agency does not allow the individual to review his record as required by § 552a(d)(1), see id. § 552a(g)(1)(B), or if an agency has refused to amend a record, see id. § 552a(g)(1)(A).*fn4 An individual also may challenge an agency's failure to maintain records with the accuracy, relevance, timeliness and completeness required by § 552a(e)(5), but only if the plaintiff demonstrates that the agency action had an "adverse" effect on him. Id. § 552a(g)(1)(C). Similarly, § 552a(g)(1)(D) provides a catch-all cause of action for circumstances in which an agency "fails to comply with any other provision" of the Act; however, like the relief provided in § 552a(g)(1)(C), "an adverse effect on an individual" is also a prerequisite to a § 552a(g)(1)(D) action.
However, despite the limited legislative history, it is evident that Congress expressed particular concern with the Government's action in collecting information about citizens' exercise of their First Amendment rights. Both the Senate and the House versions of the bill contained protections to address these concerns. In the Senate bill, section 201(b)(7) provided that an agency shall "establish no program for the purpose of collecting or maintaining information describing how individuals exercise rights guaranteed by the first amendment unless the head of the agency specifically determines that such program is required . . . ." S. 3418 § 201(b)(7), reprinted in Source Book 130. The Senate committee report explained that section 201(b)(7) reflect[ed] the preferred status . . . accord[ed] to information touching areas protected by the First Amendment . . . . It [wa]s aimed at protecting Americans in the enjoyment of the privacy of their thoughts, habits, attitudes and beliefs in matters having nothing to do with the requirements of their dealings with an agency seeking information.
S. Rep. No. 93-1183, at 56 (1974), reprinted in Source Book 209. Moreover, the committee noted, section 201(b)(7) was "directed to the planning stage of any . . . programs being designed for the principle purpose of identifying Americans who exercise their rights under the First Amendment," and was "aimed particularly at preventing collection of protected information not immediately needed, about law-abiding Americans, on the off-chance that Government or the particular agency might possibly have to deal with them in the future." S. Rep. No. 93-1183, at 57, reprinted in Source Book 210. Section (e)(4) of H.R. 16373, the House equivalent to § 201(b)(7),*fn5 was both broader and narrower than the Senate version; it stated simply that an agency shall "maintain no record concerning the political or religious belief or activity of any individual, unless expressly authorized by statute or by the individual about whom the record is maintained." H.R. 16373 § 552a(e)(4), reprinted in Source Book 285; see H.R. Rep. No. 93-1416, at 16, reprinted in Source Book 309.
After the bills were proposed in both Houses of Congress, members expressed concern that the analogues to § 552a(e)(7) were overly broad and would hamper legitimate law enforcement efforts. For example, a sponsor of H.R. 16373 assured the House that section 552a(e)(4) would not prevent the FBI from "maintaining records as to political beliefs" if the records concerned the Communist Party or other groups dedicated ...