Judge nixes warrantless surveillance

[ABushismaDay]

DETROIT - A federal judge ruled Thursday that the government's warrantless wiretapping program is unconstitutional and ordered an immediate halt to it.

U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit became the first judge to strike down the National Security Agency's program, which she says violates the rights to free speech and privacy as well as the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution.

"Plaintiffs have prevailed, and the public interest is clear, in this matter. It is the upholding of our Constitution," Taylor wrote in her 43-page opinion.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of journalists, scholars and lawyers who say the program has made it difficult for them to do their jobs. They believe many of their overseas contacts are likely targets of the program, which involves secretly listening to conversations between people in the U.S. and people in other countries.

The government argued that the program is well within the president's authority, but said proving that would require revealing state secrets.

The ACLU said the state-secrets argument was irrelevant because the Bush administration had already publicly revealed enough information about the program for Taylor to rule on the case.

"By holding that even the president is not above the law, the court has done its duty," said Ann Beeson, the ACLU's associate legal director and the lead attorney for the plaintiffs.

The NSA had no immediate comment on the ruling.

Taylor dismissed a separate claim by the ACLU over data-mining of phone records by the NSA. She said not enough had been publicly revealed about that program to support the claim and further litigation could jeopardize state secrets.

Beeson predicted the government would appeal the ruling and request that the order to halt the program be postponed while the case makes its way through the system. She said the ACLU had not yet decided whether it would oppose such a postponement.

[Dr. NO]

Failed to be mentioned is that this judge is a Carter appointed LIB who attempted to subvert the rules of the court in a previous case regarding affirmative action. The ACLU managed to find just the right court, in Michigan? to get the ruling it wanted. Question is, why is it about freedom of speech and privacy (didn't know we had that one) vs. Illigal Search? Since when is a phone tap a violation of your speech?

[Bubba]

Failed to be mentioned is that this judge is a Carter appointed LIB who attempted to subvert the rules of the court in a previous case regarding affirmative action. The ACLU managed to find just the right court, in Michigan? to get the ruling it wanted. Question is, why is it about freedom of speech and privacy (didn't know we had that one) vs. Illigal Search? Since when is a phone tap a violation of your speech?

Just a guess Doc, but you never took Constitutional law in school, did you.

[BigKahuna13]

Failed to be mentioned is that this judge is a Carter appointed LIB who attempted to subvert the rules of the court in a previous case regarding affirmative action. The ACLU managed to find just the right court, in Michigan? to get the ruling it wanted. Question is, why is it about freedom of speech and privacy (didn't know we had that one) vs. Illigal Search? Since when is a phone tap a violation of your speech?

Simple. If you know or suspect that your phone is tapped by the government your ability to speak freely is compromised because you'd fear that the goverment might use anything you say against you.
This assumes that the wiretap is illegal. Since the judge found the wiretaps to be illegal for a whole host of reasons they represent a first amendment violation. The suit btw, was brought in behalf of lawyers and journalists (among others). Both would have significant concerns in this area.

Judge Diggs may be a Carter appointee and a civil rights activist, but from what I've read, she's a pretty by-the-book judge. It'll be interesting to see what happens when this eventually gets to the Supreme Court.