Department of Homeland Security v. MacLean
The Court Rules That Whistleblower Protections Cover Disclosure of Sensitive Security Information
Department of Homeland Security v. MacLean was featured in Protecting Whistleblowers, Supreme Court Debates (Dec. 2014). The following is excerpted from the summary of the majority opinion written by Chief Justice Roberts, as prepared by the Court Reporter of Decisions. Robert J. MacLean’s disclosure [of Sensitive Security Information] was not “specifically prohibited by law.” The government argues that MacLean’s disclosure was “specifically prohibited by law” in two ways: first, by the Transportation Security Administration’s regulations on sensitive security information, and second, by Section 114(r)(1) of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001 itself, which authorized the Transportation Security…
