Pursuant to a request from the panel of the 9th Circuit that ruled in Professor Bernstein's favor in May, 1999, both Professor Bernstein and the US Government today filed simultaneous letter briefs advising the panel that, in light of the new interim encryption export regulation issued on January 14, 2000, this case should be remanded to the original District Court for further proceedings and review.
Bernstein brief stated: "While Plaintiff remains concerned about the Constitutionality and ambiguity of the new interim regulations, and while they do appear to affect Professor Bernstein's scientific activities, we are continuing to seek clarification from the Defendants and believe that, regardless of the outcome of that process, the questions concerning the new interim regulations should be heard in the district court in the first instance."
In addition to filing this brief with the court, Bernstein plans to send a follow-up to letter to BXA requesting clarification of some of the statements made in the Advisory Opinion letter issued by the government on February 17, 2000.
The ongoing correspondence between Professor Bernstein and the government, as well as the letter briefs are available here:
Please send any questions or comments to webmaster@eff.org