Federal appeals court reinstates wiretapping suit

[texastoast]

Monday, March 21, 2011
Erin Bock at 3:51 PM ET


The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Monday that the plaintiffs in Amnesty v. Blai have standing to sue the US government over the constitutionality of a federal eavesdropping law, reinstating their lawsuit. The plaintiffs, including attorneys, journalists and rights organizations, facially challenged Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) <50 USC § 1881(a)>, which was added by the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (FAA)

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. The law created procedures to allow electronic government surveillance of individuals living outside of the US for foreign intelligence purposes. The plaintiffs alleged that the law violated the Fourth Amendment, First Amendment and Article III of the Constitution. A 2009 ruling from the US District Court in Manhattan found that the plaintiffs lacked standing because they did not suffer an injury in fact and dismissed the suit. Plaintiffs appealed and argued that the fear of future government surveillance while performing work-related activities such as conducting interviews with possible targets caused an injury in fact through "economic and professional costs" expended to protect themselves. They also alleged that the law chilled their freedom of speech.

http://jurist.org/paperchase/2011/03/federal-appeals-court-reinstates-wiretapping-suit.php

http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/victory-court-says-plaintiffs-can-challenge-bush-wiretapping-law