U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon has handed down a blockbuster decision this afternoon finding that the massive National Security Agency surveillance program is unconstitutional – a view shared by many constitutional scholars including myself. The decision is not only a courageous defense of privacy but a reaffirmation of the integrity and independence of the courts. While President Obama often insists that his authority for such surveillance is clear, the Justice Department has fought mightily (and until now successfully) to block all major challenges of the program from securing judicial review. The decision is also an embarrassment to the “reform” boards set up by the White House, including one that just released its findings on the NSA program (including the assurance that the NSA program is perfectly legal).
The Review Board conclusions were leaked by officials, which noted that the board found that the NSA is operating within the laws. This was the day before Leon issued his ruling saying that the NSA was flagrantly violating the Constitution. Many of us have questioned the hand picked boards, including a privacy board that has yet to issue its recommendations, in the wake of the Snowden scandal.
Leon made it clear that this was not a close question: “I cannot imagine a more ‘indiscriminate’ and ‘arbitrary invasion’ than this systematic and high-tech collection and retention of personal data on virtually every single citizen for purposes of querying it and analyzing it without judicial approval.” What in interesting is that he stated that he not only saw the legal basis for such searches but failed to see the value of the program as a whole: “I have significant doubts about the efficacy of the metadata collection program as a means of conducting time-sensitive investigations in cases involving imminent threats of terrorism.”
It is a rejection of a new version of old strategic warrants where the government engaged in open surveillance in the hopes of stumbling over a crime. Of course, the Obama Administration insists that it does not require a real warrant for collection metadata, including hundreds of millions of calls and emails. At a time when privacy seems besieged on all sides, the decision is a long-needed victory for civil liberties.
In the opinion below, Leon says that the Framers would be “aghast” at this program and I certainly agree with that assessment, though much of the presidential authority claimed today would likely produce a similar response.
Here is the opinion: NSA opinion
Source: Politico
My, my, my … now look what that traitor, Snowden, has done … the first judicial setback for the NSA’s surveillance program since he started leaking NSA documents. And to think that the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has approved NSA’s metadata program over and over again.
This preliminary injunction has been stayed giving the government a chance to appeal but the door is now open.
I believe, correct me if I’ve got it wrong, that Judge William Pauley has reserved decision on an ACLU request to halt the National Security Agency surveillance programs pending the outcome of its lawsuit against President Barack Obama’s administration. That case was also heard in late November.
Liberals and conservatives are as one on this matter. The way it is shaping up is basically The Executive and the Legislative against The People. Snowden may go down in as the single most influential common man in the history of the United States.
After Snowden, my newest hero Judge Leon!
There is copy of the ruling in http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregorymcneal/2013/12/16/klayman-v-obama-nsa-metadata-collection-opinion-ocr/
There is a nice bit on page 38 that illustrates just how two-faced the DoJ can be.
For one audience, their collection is comprehensive.
For another audience, the collection is so incomplete that the plaintiffs can not claim their data has been collected.
“Yet in one footnote, the Government asks me to find that plaintiffs lack standing based on the theoretical possibility that the NSA has collected a universe of metadata so incomplete that the program could not possibly serve its putative function.”
and wonderfully 🙂
“To draw an analogy, if the NSA’s program operates the way the Government suggests it does, then omitting Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and Sprint from the collection would be like omitting John, Paul and George from a historical analysis of the Beatles. A Ringo-only database doesn’t make any sense, and I cannot believe the Government would create, maintain, and so ardendently defend such a system”
.
Digressing a bit …….
European privacy laws have a clue.
A user supplies information for a purpose. The data can only be used for that purpose.
For telephone calls, the called number is required so that the call can be connected. The calling and called pair are required to facilitate billing. End of. There is no other purpose for the information.
I simply do not understand how anyone – nevermind a judge – can hold that the user can have no expection of privacy because they have shared the called number “with a third party” (the telco exchange). That’s utterly moronic. Just try calling someone without supplying to the system the number that you want to call.
I wonder how the FISA court judges are going to interpret this, and if they intend to abide by it.
It’s amazing when the right thing is done… Regardless of the administrations wishes….. One mark in the column of justice…. I wonder how quickly the Sct will act…..
I dub his new nickname, Judge Leon Spinks. I bet he’s got more teeth than brother Leon.
Here is another revelation of what tracking is happening: “The Post also reported on other kinds of information that are being scooped up by NSA and used to track and identify individuals. A program called HAPPYFOOT listens to mobile apps that send geolocation information about the current whereabouts of a user’s device back to an app developer or service provider. Tapping these communications lets NSA find a user’s physical location by sitting back and letting the user’s own mobile device inform on their whereabouts. Some of these apps are transmitting this information solely for advertising purposes in ways that users may not even understand or expect. (As the Post reminds us, parts of the mobile app industry have been keen to collect user data for no user benefit: as the newspaper reported last week, even a mobile flashlight app actively gathered data on people’s whereabouts.) Yet if it’s sent unencrypted, NSA can scoop it up to figure out where people are at any moment, even by passively listening to distant Internet links.”
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/12/nsa-turns-cookies-and-more-surveillance-beacons
This is interesting also: ” Richard J. Leon Puts The Nail In Bush’s Coffin
You may know by now that a federal judge ruled today that five Algerians held at Guantanamo for seven years were detained unlawfully and must be released immediately. The prisoners included Lakhdar Boumediene, for whom the Supreme Court case Boumediene v. Bush, which invalidated a section of the Military Commissions Act and forced these habeas corpus challenges to be heard in federal court, was named. Essentially, the ruling held that the Justice Department and intelligence agencies failed to make their case that these prisoners planned to travel to Afghanistan to fight coalition forces, a claim which was based on a single classified source.”
http://d-day.blogspot.com.br/2008/11/richard-j-leon-puts-nail-in-bushs.html
(found at Glenn’s twitter)
Awesome Dawson!
This is great news! On Glenn’s twitter is links to more analysis and a few good jokes like this one: “Looks like NSA will have to change its rhetoric from “blessed by all 3 branches” to “oops — 2 branches”
Everything, everywhere, everyone-no that is not legal and it’s not law enforcement either.
Nice, about time!
Now can the court order those that were spying to have an ear cut off so we can all see who that Anti-America Trash is?
Judge Leon is a conservative judge and may have an influence on the pending decision in the Manhattan Federal District Court (ACLU v. Clapper). Judge Leon mentions that case at footnote two of his decision today.
Finally! Thank you Judge Leon. You help bring respect back to the Judiciary.
Outstanding. Once in a while we get glimmers of hope with our judicial appointments. Here is one, a BIG one.
Good on you, Judge Leon.
Get a warrant now for each and every guess…
Reblogged this on Brittius.com.
Local law enforcement agencies have to get warrants based upon probable cause under specific limitations. Why is this differnet for the executive branch? One thought the constitution applied to both.
Kudos to Judge Leon. Let’s hope this decision stands. We need to rehabilitate the 4th Amendment.