The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether government officials may be liable for lying to members of the public. Jennifer Harbury was married to a Guatemalan guerrilla leader who suddenly disappeared in 1992. She made repeated inquiries at the State Department. Officials there told her that the government had investigated the matter and had no knowledge of her husband's fate. In fact, the CIA had notified the State Department that the man was being held by a Guatemalan Army commander who was being paid by the CIA for information about the guerillas. After over a year of interrogation and torture, Harbury's husband was executed.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals held that Harbury could bring suit against the State Department officials for deceiving her for the purpose of preventing her from going to court in 1993-94 to free her husband. If supported by the evidence, their actions would be in violation of her constitutional right of access to the courts.

AAJ filed an amicus brief supporting Harbury, arguing that the right of access to the courts is a recognized fundamental right.

Read AAJ's amicus curiae brief in Christopher v. Harbury