Does anyone know how this will be enforced?
U.S. NSA domestic phone spying program illegal: appeals court
31–40 of 146 posts
Re: U.S. NSA domestic phone spying program illegal: appeals court
#32Is Snowden a whistleblower now?
Re: U.S. NSA domestic phone spying program illegal: appeals court
#33Is it weird that anti-surveillance court rulings don't really make me feel better? If they'd not only lie to Congress, but ACTUALLY SPY ON Congress, what is a judge going to do to stop them?
The difference isn't so much whether they conduct surveillance, within or on the edges of the law, but whether they can use whatever information they find.
If the information that is found cannot subsequently be used to (legally) further whatever agenda they have, then it is of very much diminished value, and its collection will receive less support.
Small steps...
Re: U.S. NSA domestic phone spying program illegal: appeals court
#34That it took this long and came this close is concerning. I can't help but feel this is just theater.
Re: U.S. NSA domestic phone spying program illegal: appeals court
#35Pre-Snowden, I wonder if the ruling would have been different. Back then the judges would only know what was presented to them. The government would have obviously presented in a way that was most favorable to them, and their opposition would not have access to crucial evidence. Now that the cat shit is out of the bag, judges and everyone else have more background to evaluate what's in front of them. The government w…
There probably wouldn't have been a ruling at all. The court itself states that Snowden was the principle catalyst for this case to ever go to court in the first place.
From the judgement:
"Americans first learned about the telephone metadata program that appellants now challenge on June 5, 2013, when the British newspaper The Guardian published a FISC order leaked by former government contractor Edward Snowden".
Re: U.S. NSA domestic phone spying program illegal: appeals court
#36Now it would be the right time to ask for a presidential pardon for Edward Snowden. Now that candidates are gearing up their campaign platforms, it would be a great vote winner both on the left and on the (libertarian) right. If you live in a "defining primary" state, please go and ask the candidates as soon as they show up.
We may be glad with what he did but do we want to encourage this type of thing? I think quietly "being nice" to him is fine but a public pardon, a welcome hope party, adoring media coverage may inspire some idiot to be the next Snowden and we probably do not want that.
Re: U.S. NSA domestic phone spying program illegal: appeals court
#37Can somebody explain how a constitutional challenge could be dismissed under the pretext of "it was authorized by Congress"? Isn't the whole point of a constitutional challenge to address things illegal things authorized by the government?
> Can somebody explain how a constitutional challenge could be dismissed under the pretext of "it was authorized by Congress"?
The Constitutional limits on what the executive can do on its own authority are different than the Constitutional limits on what the Congress can authorize the Executive to do. So, its quite possible that "it was authorized by Congress" could be a decisive consideration in a case challenging an executive action as unconstitutional.
Re: U.S. NSA domestic phone spying program illegal: appeals court
#38The actual judgment: http://pdfserver.amlaw.com/nlj/NSA_ca2_20150507.pdf From the ruling: > Because we find that the program exceeds the scope of what Congress has authorized, we vacate the decision below dismissing the complaint without reaching appellants’ constitutional arguments. It appears that the government is starting to lose the ability to always dismiss constitutional rights abused on "state secrets" ground…
It's important to stress the usefulness of monthly donations, as opposed to single donations, even large ones. Monthly donations let organizations like the ACLU and the EFF plan for the future based on a reliable source of income, instead of individual donations which can be peaky.
Re: U.S. NSA domestic phone spying program illegal: appeals court
#39Is it weird that anti-surveillance court rulings don't really make me feel better? If they'd not only lie to Congress, but ACTUALLY SPY ON Congress, what is a judge going to do to stop them?
The difference isn't so much whether they conduct surveillance, within or on the edges of the law, but whether they can use whatever information they find. If the information that is found cannot subsequently be used to (legally) further whatever agenda they have, then it is of very much diminished value, and its collection will receive less support. Small steps...
Good for each of us now, but what of the people that were convicted on evidence found through parallel construction in the past that might not even be aware of it or able to prove it? What exactly can the courts do to help those people?
Re: U.S. NSA domestic phone spying program illegal: appeals court
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sorry to add to the downer chorus, but I think that would require a majority in both houses to exhibit some integrity and a desire to wield Congressional power. I don't see that happening. Obstructionism, pandering, lobbying and abdication of responsibility? Oh, we've got that in spades.
Not to be a double downer, I don't see the current president signing anything that would limit executive power so it would take 2/3rds of both houses to override a veto.
I concur, with the slight modification:
s/current/any/;