domestic spying

  • You must absolutely read this fascinating account by a lawyer suing the U.S. Government for disregarding FISA in its electronic surveillance program. Usually, these cases die before they begin because the plaintiffs can't prove that they were surveilled without revealing State secrets, but in this case the government mistakenly released a document proving that the plaintiffs were wiretapped outside of FISA. This leads to a fascinating look into the legal process of fighting illegal wiretaps:
    In June of 2007, the DOJ attorneys filed two opening briefs in the 9th Circuit. One brief was publicly available, to which we would be allowed to file a publicly available responsive brief. The other was filed in secret, under seal, for the judge's eyes only. The bad news for us was that we would not be permitted to see the government's secret brief; the (sort of) good news was that we could file our own secret brief in response. Rebutting arguments you've not been allowed to see is a talent that isn't taught in law school.
    Straight outta Kafka. (22) #
    7/9/2008
  • The Supreme Court has rejected without comment the ACLU's challenge to the Bush administration's domestic spying program. From the AP:
    The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the suit, saying the plaintiffs could not prove their communications had been monitored.

    The government has refused to turn over information about the closely guarded program that could reveal who has been under surveillance.

    ACLU legal director Steven R. Shapiro has said his group is in a "Catch-22" because the government says the identities of people whose communications have been intercepted is secret. But only people who know they have been wiretapped can sue over the program, Shapiro has said.
    So deliciously Orwellian. (22) #
    2/19/2008
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