Jameel Jaffer, an A.C.L.U. attorney who argued against Mr. Verrilli in the Supreme Court, contended that the representatives of the Justice Department were “tying themselves up in knots in order to gloss over what was plainly a misrepresentation.”

He added: “The government told the Supreme Court that it was complying with the notice requirement, but it neglected to mention that it was construing the notice requirement so narrowly that defendants who were entitled to notice weren’t receiving it.”