About the Case: In this case, the Clinic represents Lee Levine and Earl Caldwell in seeking public records from several sub-agencies within the Department of Justice. Mr. Levine is writing a book on the history of the reporter’s privilege in the U.S., and he is specifically interested in understanding the role not-yet-Supreme-Court-Justice William Rehnquist played in creating guidelines for the Attorney General’s office to follow when obtaining information from the news media. Then-Assistant-Attorney-General Rehnquist’s involvement is a hot-button topic, because he was involved in subpoenaing New York Times reporter Eric Caldwell while trying to gather information about the Black Panthers. The Caldwell subpoena made its way all the way to the Supreme Court in Branzburg v. Hayes—but by that time, Rehnquist had been elevated to the Court, and he participated in the decision in Branzburg. In July and December 2023, the Clinic filed four FOIA requests on Mr. Levine’s and Mr. Caldwell’s behalf. The requests sought records from 1966 to 1972 regarding Mr. Caldwell, departmental policies regarding when to subpoena journalists, and the decision to subpoena Mr. Caldwell. In March 2025--after waiting more than a year for the records--the Clinic filed suit on our clients’ behalf. The case is ongoing, and Defendants have begun producing responsive documents.
Complaint (with 4 Exhibits)