Lawsuit Claims Marijuana Questions In Federal Security Clearance Process Violated DOD Contractor’s Constitutional Rights

Lawsuit Claims Marijuana Questions In Federal Security Clearance Process Violated DOD Contractor’s Constitutional Rights

A U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) contractor is suing the federal government, alleging that questions about his past marijuana use during a security clearance process violated his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The plaintiff in the case, Robert Filipiuk, is an aerospace engineer at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. In early 2023, as part of a DOD background check, he disclosed on a questionnaire that he’d u…