Osama Bin Laden Photos Case Could Be Headed To Supreme Court

A conservative group suing the government to obtain photos taken of Osama bin Laden's dead body is taking its case to the Supreme Court.

An appeals court ruled back in May that releasing the images "could reasonably be expected to trigger violence and attacks" against the United States. Judicial Watch had argued that releasing photos of bin Laden's body being buried at sea wouldn't compromise national security.

In a petition filed to the Supreme Court this week, Judicial Watch wrote that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit erred by trusting the government's claim that releasing photos of bin Laden's body being buried at sea would spark riots. Allowing the government to make such a claim would weaken the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Judicial Watch argued.

"By providing almost blind deference to the Executive Branch, it is foreseeable that the Executive Branch will abuse its seemingly unreviewable authority" to use exemptions to FOIA, Judicial Watch argued.