◆ SpookStack

To: All Divisions From: Office of the General Counsel Re: 3L9X-HO-AL4B7720-0G6C, 64/07/2006 NATIONAL SECURITY LETTERS‘ Sec. 115. Judicial Review of National Security Letters. Title 18, Chapter 223 of the United States Code (Witnesses and Evidence) is amended to include a new section 3511 which provides for the judicial review of NSLs. Procedural Changes Related to the Judicial Review of NSLs: This new section modifies the NSL authorities under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA\(18 U.S.C. § 2709), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)(15 U.S.C. § 1681u and 15 U.S.C. §.1681¥), and the Right to Financial Privacy Act (RFPA)(i2 U.S.C. § 3414), to make it clear that the recipient may seek the help of an attorney, and may challenge the legality of an NSL order and its non- —__.. disclosure provision in Federal District Court. A Federal District Court can modify or set aside an NSL if it is unreasonable, oppressive, or otherwise unlawful, [t continues to be important for the FBI to serve NSLs only if the information sought falls within the statutory categories, and which are not overly broad or oppressive. Future practice will give the FBI an idea of how many NSL challenges can be expected in a calendar year. If Federal grand jury practice is any indication, the number of NSLs challenged on a yearly basis should be small. Regardless, the FBI Field Office will need to work with local Assistant United States Attorneys when a recipient challenges the Jegality of an NSL or the non- disclosure provision. Additionally, FB] Field Offices should immediately notify FB] OGC if they receive notice of any challenge to an NSL or the NSL’s nondisclosure provision. The following chart breaks down the new provisions {including jurisdictional issues). The new taw also gives the U.S. government a mechanism to address the situation where a recipient fails to comply with the NSL, which has been missing from the investigative too! in the past. Again, this procedure will require the assistance of a local United States Attomey’s Office. Judicial review of NSL _| « Jurisdiction: In the U.S. District in which the recipient resides (Recipient may challenge . | or does business. the request): of .. 4 * Recipient may ask court to set aside or modify request. _ | ¢ Court will grant the recipient’s motion if the NSL is * | unreasonable, oppressive, or otherwise unlawful. * The changes listed in this section also include the changes made by sections 4 and 5 of the “USA PATRIOT Act Additional Reauthorizing Amendments Act of 2006.” 16