Steve posted: "In Other words Edward Snowden has just been vindicated,
and is a National Hero in My book. In the mean time
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NSA phone surveillance program likely unconstitutional, " Respond to
this post by replying above this line
New post on *Fellowship of the Minds*
<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/author/stungunsandmace/> Federal Judge
Rules Phone Surveillance Program Likely
Unconstitutional.<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2013/12/17/federal-judge-rules-phone-surveillance-program-likely-unconstitutional/>
by
Steve <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/author/stungunsandmace/>
In Other words Edward
Snowden<http://www.crunchbase.com/person/edward-snowden>has just been
vindicated, and is a National Hero in My book.
In the mean time [image:
stupid-hiding-from]<http://fellowshipofminds.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/stupid-hiding-from.jpg>
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NSA phone surveillance program likely unconstitutional, federal judge rules
• *Dragnet 'likely' in breach of fourth amendment*
• Judge describes scope of program as 'Orwellian'
• Ruling relates to collection of Americans' metadata
• Read the full ruling
here<http://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2013/dec/16/nsa-collection-phone-metadata-district-court-ruling>
Spencer Ackerman <http://www.theguardian.com/profile/spencerackerman> and Dan
Roberts <http://www.theguardian.com/profile/dan-roberts> in
Washington<http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=38.8951111111,-77.0366666667&spn=0.1,0.1&q=38.8951111111,-77.0366666667%20(Washington%2C%20D.C.)&t=h>
- theguardian.com <http://www.theguardian.com/>, Monday 16 December 2013
15.38 EST
A federal judge in Washington ruled on Monday that the bulk collection of
Americans’ telephone records by the National Security
Agency<http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=39.109,-76.77&spn=0.01,0.01&q=39.109,-76.77%20(National%20Security%20Agency)&t=h>is
*likely
to violate the US constitution
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution>*, in the most
significant legal setback for the agency since the publication of the first
surveillance disclosures by the whistleblower *Edward Snowden.*
[image: NSA: legal setback. Photograph: Julian
Stratenschulte/EPA]<http://fellowshipofminds.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/nsa-data-collection-008.jpg>
NSA: legal setback. Photograph: Julian Stratenschulte/EPA
Judge Richard Leon <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_J._Leon> declared
that the mass collection of metadata *probably violates the fourth
amendment,* which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, and was
"almost Orwellian" in its scope. In a judgment replete with literary swipes
against the NSA, he said James Madison, the architect of the US
constitution, would be "aghast" at the scope of the agency’s collection of
Americans' communications data.
The ruling, by the US district court for the District of
Columbia<http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/>,
*is a blow to the Obama administration*, and sets up a legal battle that
will drag on for months, almost certainly destined to end up in the supreme
court. It was welcomed by campaigners pressing to rein in the NSA, and by
Snowden, who issued a rare public statement saying it had vindicated his
disclosures. It is also likely to influence other legal challenges to the
NSA, currently working their way through federal courts.
The case was brought by Larry Klayman, a conservative lawyer, and Charles
Strange <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Alfred_Strange>, father of a
cryptologist killed in Afghanistan when his helicopter was shot down in
2011. His son worked for the NSA and carried out support work for Navy Seal
Team
Six<http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=34.1876078333,73.2426098333&spn=0.01,0.01&q=34.1876078333,73.2426098333%20(United%20States%20Naval%20Special%20Warfare%20Development%20Group)&t=h>,
the elite force that killed Osama bin
Laden<http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=34.1691666667,73.2425&spn=0.01,0.01&q=34.1691666667,73.2425%20(Death%20of%20Osama%20bin%20Laden)&t=h>
.
In Monday’s ruling, the judge concluded that the pair's constitutional
challenge was likely to be successful. In what was the only comfort to the
NSA in a stinging judgment, Leon put the ruling on hold, pending an appeal
by the government.
Leon expressed doubt about the central rationale for the program cited by
the NSA: that it is necessary for preventing terrorist attacks. “The
government does not cite a single case in which analysis of the NSA’s bulk
metadata collection actually stopped an imminent terrorist attack,” he
wrote.
“Given the limited record before me at this point in the litigation – most
notably, the utter lack of evidence that a terrorist attack has ever been
prevented because searching the NSA database was faster than other
investigative tactics – I have serious doubts about the efficacy of the
metadata collection program as a means of conducting time-sensitive
investigations in cases involving imminent threats of terrorism.”
Leon’s opinion contained stern and repeated warnings that he was inclined
to rule that the metadata collection performed by the NSA – and defended
vigorously by the NSA director Keith Alexander on CBS on Sunday night – was
unconstitutional.
“Plaintiffs have a substantial likelihood of showing that their privacy
interests outweigh the government’s interest in collecting and analysing
bulk telephony metadata and therefore the NSA’s bulk collection program is
indeed an unreasonable search under the fourth amendment,” he wrote.
Leon said that the mass collection of phone metadata, revealed by the
Guardian in
June<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/06/nsa-phone-records-verizon-court-order>,
was "indiscriminatory" and "arbitrary" in its scope. "The almost-Orwellian
technology that enables the government to store and analyze the phone
metadata of every telephone user in the United
States<http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=38.8833333333,-77.0166666667&spn=10.0,10.0&q=38.8833333333,-77.0166666667%20(United%20States)&t=h>is
unlike anything that could have been conceived in 1979," he wrote,
referring to the year in which the US supreme court ruled on a fourth
amendment case upon which the NSA now relies to justify the bulk records
program.
Snowden welcomes ruling
*Rest Of Story
Here*<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/16/nsa-phone-surveillance-likely-unconstitutional-judge>
~Steve~
*Steve <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/author/stungunsandmace/>* |
December 17, 2013 at 3:04 am | Tags: Edward
Snowden<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?tag=edward-snowden>,
Leon <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?tag=leon>,
Monday<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?tag=monday>,
National Security
Agency<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?tag=national-security-agency>,
NSA <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?tag=nsa>,
Snowden<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?tag=snowden>,
United States <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?tag=united-states>, United
States District Court for the District of
Columbia<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?tag=united-states-district-court-for-the-district-of-columbia>|
Categories: 2014
Election <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=44872111>,
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