View source for State secrets privilege

{{Short description|Evidentiary rule in the US}}
The '''state secrets privilege''' is an [[Evidence (law)|evidentiary rule]] created by [[United States]] legal [[precedent]]. Application of the privilege results in exclusion of evidence from a [[legal case]] based solely on [[affidavits]] submitted by the government stating that court proceedings might disclose sensitive information which might endanger national security.<ref name="Executive Misconduct" /><ref name="Julie Hilden" /> ''[[United States v. Reynolds]]'',<ref>{{cite court |litigants = United States v. Reynolds |vol = 345 |reporter = U.S. |pinpoint = paragraph 8 |court =  |year = 1953 |https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/345/1.html | quote= The privilege against revealing military secrets, a privilege which is well established in the law of evidence}}</ref> which involved alleged military secrets, was the first case that saw formal recognition of the privilege.

Following a claim of "state secrets privilege", the court rarely conducts an ''[[in camera]]'' examination of the evidence to evaluate whether there is sufficient cause to support the use of this doctrine. This results in court rulings in which even the judge has not verified the veracity of the assertion.  The privileged material is completely removed from the litigation, and the court must determine how the unavailability of the privileged information affects the case.<ref name="El-Masri Rendition Case"/>