Am. Civil Liberties Union v. Nat'l Sec. Agency

José A. Cabranes, Circuit Judge:

The American people have the right to know the laws and policies that bind our government and its agencies. At the same time, government officials must be able to receive confidential legal advice and deliberate frankly. Sometimes, these principles appear contradictory. We can, however, accommodate both by carefully defining the boundary between law, on the one hand, and advice, on the other. Put simply, law binds. Accordingly, when inquiring whether a document constitutes an agency's "effective law and policy" or whether it merely contains legal or policy…