James R. Clapper, Jr., Director of National Intelligence, et al., Petitioners v. Amnesty International USA et al.

Decided February 26, 2013. Samuel A. Alito Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 11-1025 · 568 U.S. 398 (2013) · Cited 3,172 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–4.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife · 504 U.S. 555 (1992)
• Summers v. Earth Island Institute · 555 U.S. 488 (2009)
• Laird v. Tatum · 408 U.S. 1 (1972)
• Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms · 561 U.S. 139 (2010)
• DaimlerChrysler Corp. v. Cuno · 547 U.S. 332 (2006)
• Whitmore Ex Rel. Simmons v. Arkansas · 495 U.S. 149 (1990)
• Babbitt v. United Farm Workers National Union · 442 U.S. 289 (1979)
• Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc. · 528 U.S. 167 (2000)
• Davis v. Federal Election Commission · 554 U.S. 724 (2008)
• Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Inc. · 454 U.S. 464 (1982)
• Raines v. Byrd · 521 U.S. 811 (1997)
• Schlesinger v. Reservists Committee to Stop the War · 418 U.S. 208 (1974)
• Pennell v. City of San Jose · 485 U.S. 1 (1988)
• Meese v. Keene · 481 U.S. 465 (1987)
• Blum v. Yaretsky · 457 U.S. 991 (1982)
• United States v. United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan · 407 U.S. 297 (1972)
• Duke Power Co. v. Carolina Environmental Study Group, Inc. · 438 U.S. 59 (1978)
• MedImmune, Inc. v. Genentech, Inc. · 549 U.S. 118 (2007)
• United States v. Richardson · 418 U.S. 166 (1974)
• McConnell v. Federal Election Commission · 540 U.S. 93 (2003)
• Younger v. Harris · 401 U.S. 37 (1971)
• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• Aetna Life Insurance v. Haworth · 300 U.S. 227 (1937)
• Maryland Casualty Co. v. Pacific Coal & Oil Co. · 312 U.S. 270 (1941)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez · 494 U.S. 259 (1990)
• Clinton v. City of New York · 524 U.S. 417 (1998)
• Pennsylvania v. West Virginia · 262 U.S. 553 (1923)
• Department of Commerce v. United States House of Representatives · 525 U.S. 316 (1999)
• Pennsylvania v. New Jersey · 426 U.S. 660 (1976)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Murthy v. Missouri · 603 U.S. 43 (2024)
• Trump v. New York · 592 U.S. 125 (2020)
• Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins · 578 U.S. 330 (2016)
• FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine · 602 U.S. 367 (2024)
• Federal Election Comm'n v. Ted Cruz · 596 U.S. 289 (2022)
• TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez · 594 U.S. 413 (2021)
• Department of Commerce v. New York · 588 U.S. 752 (2019)
• Town of Chester v. Laroe Estates, Inc. · 581 U.S. 433 (2017)
• Thole v. U. S. Bank N. A. · 590 U.S. 538 (2020)
• California v. Texas · 593 U.S. 659 (2021)
• FBI v. Fazaga · 595 U.S. 344 (2022)
• Hollingsworth v. Perry · 570 U.S. 693 (2013)
• A.A.R.P. v. Trump · 605 U.S. 91 (2025)
• United States v. Texas · 599 U.S. 670 (2023)
• Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Comm'n · 576 U.S. 787 (2015)
• Diamond Alternative Energy, LLC v. EPA · 606 U.S. 100 (2025)
• Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta · 594 U.S. 595 (2021)
• Reed v. Goertz · 598 U.S. 230 (2023)
• Biden v. Nebraska · 600 U.S. 477 (2023)
• American Legion v. American Humanist Assn. · 588 U.S. 29 (2019)
• Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson · 595 U.S. 30 (2021)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).