A judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has dismissed former CIA Director John Brennan’s lawsuit seeking to compel the Justice Department to preserve records that might be relevant to a possible future criminal prosecution of him. The ruling is notable less for any merits determination about recordkeeping and more for what it says about Article III limits: courts will not entertain speculative, pre-charge disputes built on the possibility of a future case.

Brennan’s suit asked for unusual forward-looking relief.