Jameel Jaffer facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jameel Jaffer
Jaffer at the International Journalism Festival in 2024
Born	1971 (age 53–54)
Nationality	Canadian
Alma mater	Williams College (BA) University of Cambridge (MPhil) Harvard University (JD)
Occupation	Lawyer
Known for	Human rights work

Jameel Jaffer is a Canadian human rights and civil liberties lawyer. He is the first director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. This institute works to protect freedom of speech and the press in the digital world. They do this through lawsuits, research, and teaching.

One of the Knight Institute's first big cases was against President Trump. They successfully argued that he could not block critics from his Twitter account. This case helped protect free speech online. Before this, Jaffer was a Deputy Legal Director at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). There, he helped release important government documents. These documents showed how prisoners were treated in places like the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. The New York Times called this lawsuit "one of the most successful in the history of public disclosure."

Early Life and School

Jameel Jaffer's family comes from Tanzania. His father's family is from Zanzibar, and his mother's family is from Dar es Salaam. His family follows the Isma'ilism branch of Islam. However, Jaffer does not describe himself as a religious person.

Jaffer grew up in Canada. He went to Upper Canada College, a private school in Toronto. He earned his first degree from Williams College in 1994. Then, he got his master's degree from the University of Cambridge in 1996. In 1999, he earned his law degree (called a Juris Doctor) from Harvard Law School. While at Harvard, he was an editor for the Harvard Law Review. After finishing law school, Jaffer worked for Beverley McLachlin. She was the Chief Justice of Canada at that time.

Legal Work and Protecting Rights

Jaffer is the first director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. He worked at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) from 2002 to 2016.

Challenging Laws

In 2004, Jaffer successfully challenged a part of the USA Patriot Act. This law allowed the government to get private information without a court order. A federal court agreed with Jaffer and said this part of the law was not allowed. Even after Congress changed the law, the court said it was still not allowed in 2007.

In 2006, Jaffer filed a case about Tariq Ramadan. He was a well-known Islamic thinker who was not allowed to enter the U.S. Jaffer argued that not giving him a visa was wrong. In 2009, a federal court agreed that it was unconstitutional. After this, the government allowed Dr. Ramadan to get a visa.

Government Secrecy and Transparency

In 2012 and 2013, Jaffer won two appeals. These cases were about the government not releasing memos. These memos were about a program that involved "targeted killing" (using drones to target specific people).

In 2012, Jaffer argued a case called Clapper v. Amnesty International USA in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. This case was about a law that gave the National Security Agency (NSA) power to watch international communications. The Supreme Court ruled against Jaffer's side. They said the people bringing the lawsuit did not have the right to sue.

In 2015, Jaffer, along with Jimmy Wales and Lila Tretikov from the Wikimedia Foundation, sued the National Security Agency (NSA). They challenged the NSA's surveillance activities. These activities involved the U.S. government watching and searching almost all international and many domestic communications on the Wikimedia platform.

From 2010 to 2016, Jaffer helped lead the lawsuits that led to the release of the government's "drone memos." These memos were about the U.S. drone program. Jaffer also wrote a book about this program called The Drone Memos: Targeted Killing, Secrecy, and the Law. It was published in 2016.

Until August 2016, Jaffer was the deputy legal director of the ACLU. He also directed the ACLU's Center for Democracy. This center focused on free speech, privacy, technology, national security, and international human rights. He worked on cases about surveillance, torture, and "targeted killing."

Jaffer is also an editor for Just Security, a blog about national security.

Community Involvement

In 2009, Jaffer was invited to celebrate Ramadan at the White House.