Central Intelligence Agency et al. v. Sims et al. (471 U.S. 159)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided April 16, 1985 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 471 U.S. 159 · 105 S. Ct. 1881
- Decided
- April 16, 1985
- Term
- October Term 1984
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Burger
- Issue area
- Privacy
- Disposition
- Affirmed and reversed (or vacated) in part
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Chief Justice Burger delivered the opinion of the Court. In No. 83-1075, we granted certiorari to decide whether § 102(d)(3) of the National Security Act of 1947, as incorporated in Exemption 3 of the Freedom of Information Act, •exempts from disclosure only those sources of intelligence information to which the Central Intelligence Agency had to guarantee confidentiality in order to obtain the information. In No. 83-1249, the cross-petition, we granted certiorari to decide whether the Freedom of Information Act requires the Agency to disclose the institutional affiliations of persons whose identities are exempt from disclosure as “intelligence sources.” 1 — 4 Between 1953 and 1966, the Central Intelligence Agency financed a wide-ranging project, code-named MKULTRA, concerned with “the research and development of chemical, biological, and radiological materials capable of employment in clandestine operations to control human behavior.” The program consisted of some 149 subprojects which the Agency-contracted out to various universities, research foundations, and similar institutions. At least 80 institutions and 185 private researchers participated. Because the Agency funded MKULTRA indirectly, many of the participating individuals were unaware that they were dealing with the Agency. MKULTRA was established to counter perceived Soviet and Chinese advances in brainwashing and…
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