A federal court in Alabama ought to grant a request from two aggrieved groups to sanction the Justice Department for a radically abusive subpoena it filed against the groups.

The Eagle Forum of Alabama and the Southeast Law Institute on Nov. 3 filed a motion for sanctions, including for legal fees and time reimbursement, for what amounted to harassment they suffered due to the subpoena. The subpoena, which Judge Liles Burke quashed on Oct. 24, had demanded five years of voluminous records and communications from the two groups related to their support for an Alabama law outlawing sex-change procedures for children.