S.F. judge dissolves his Wikileaks injunction

Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer

Saturday, March 1, 2008

(02-29) 17:35 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal judge in San Francisco who had ordered the shutdown of a whistle-blowers' Web site where private bank documents were posted changed his mind Friday, conceding his original ruling might not have been constitutional.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White drew nationwide attention, and widespread criticism from civil liberties groups and news organizations, with his Feb. 15 injunction requiring a Bay Area Internet registrar to disable the Wikileaks.org site and prevent the organization from transferring to another server.