This morning the Supreme Court issued its opinion in United States v. Zubaydah, in which the Court concluded that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit was wrong to conclude the state secrets privilege did not apply to information that could confirm or deny the existence of a CIA detention site in Poland in the context of a discovery dispute.
Justice Stephen Breyer delivered the opinion for the Court, but the line-up is a mess. Here is how the Court splintered:
BREYER, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, except as to Parts II–B–2 and III. ROBERTS, C. J., joined that opinion in full, KAVANAUGH and BARRETT, JJ., joined as to all but Part II–B–2, KAGAN, J., joined as to all but Parts III and IV and the judgment of dismissal, and THOMAS and ALITO, JJ., joined Part IV. THOMAS, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment, in which ALITO, J., joined. KAVANAUGH, J., filed an opinion concurring in part, in which BARRETT, J., joined. KAGAN, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part. GORSUCH, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which SOTOMAYOR, J., joined.
