United States v. Reynolds

United States v. Reynolds was a landmark Supreme Court case in 1953 that saw the formal recognition of State Secrets Privilege.

In 1948 in Norcross, Georgia, an airplane carrying military personnel and civilians crashed while conducting tests of "secret electronic equipment." The widows of the three dead civilians sued and wanted full disclosure of the Air Force's accident investigation report. The Air Force refused because they deemed releasing the documents would threaten national security. The District Court and Court of Appeals had decided in favor of the civilians.

But the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the decision on a 6-3 vote. The justices ruled that cause for privilege must be reasonably demonstrated, our current system.