Appeals Court Upholds FBI Scientology Warrant - 1977-12-02
Appeals Court Upholds FBI Scientology Warrant December 2, 1977,
The U.S. Court of Appeals here upheld yesterday the validity of a search warrant used by the FBI in its massive July raid on Church of Scientology offices here.
In reverting a decision by a lower court judge who had found the warrant improperly drawn, the appeals court said the judge had given an "overbroad construction" to the warrant, "improperly interpreted the relevant offenses." "ignored a significant part" of the warrant, and "unduly" restricted his interpretation of the applicable Supreme Court case. The lower court had ordered documents seized returned to Scientology officials, but the government appealed.
The appellate panel noted that it had taken the unusual step of actually reviewing some of the documents seized inthe raid. It said in its opinion yesterday that the material included apparently original Internal Revenue Service files, CIA documents marked "secret," and files on bugging and locksmithing.