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United States District CourtFor the Northern District of CaliforniaIN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
SAN JOSE DIVISION
ALBERTO R. GONZALES, in his official
capacity as Attorney General of the United
States,
Plaintiff,
v.
GOOGLE, INC.,
Defendant.
/
NO. CV 06-8006MISC JW
ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND
DENYING IN PART MOTION TO
COMPEL COMPLIANCE WITH
SUBPOENA DUCES TECUM
I. INTRODUCTION
This case raises three vital interests: (1) the national interest in a judicial system to reach
informed decisions through the power of a subpoena to compel a third party to produce relevant
information; (2) the third-party's interest in not being compelled by a subpoena to reveal confidential
business information and devote resources to a distant litigation; and (3) the interest of individuals in
freedom from general surveillance by the Government of their use of the Internet or other
communications media.
In aid of the Government’s position in the case of ACLU v. Gonzales, Civil Action No. 98-
CV-5591 pending in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, United States Attorney General Alberto R.
Gonzales has subpoenaed Google, Inc., ("Google") to compile and produce a massive amount of
information from Google's search index, and to turn over a significant number of search queries
entered by Google users. Google timely objected to the Government's request. Following the
Case 5:06-mc-80006-JW Document 31 Filed 03/17/2006 Page 1 of 21
Gonzales v. Google Inc.
Doc. 31
Dockets.Justia.com
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1 The Court continued the hearing date originally proposed by the parties in order to allow
for amici to prepare and submit their