The FISA Court also said the powers given to criminal investigators by Ashcroft might allow the government to illegally use intelligence information in criminal cases. It noted that the Department of Justice, under the Clinton administration, had abused the FISA process and misled the court at least 12 times and that the government had admitted FBI officials had provided erroneous information to the court on more than 75 requests for warrants and wiretaps.
U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth signed the ruling, which wasn't released until August by his replacement, Presiding U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly. It was the first-ever published opinion by the FISA Court.
Upon the ruling's release, the Justice Department filed an appeal citing the FISA Court's failure to consider the expanded intelligence sharing powers legalized under the Patriot Act. The Department of Justice also argued that the May 17 ruling violated the Constitutional separation of powers between the judiciary and executive branches.
So Lamberth is gone from the FISA court. Good. And it's interesting they published an opinion for the first time ever. Sounds like there are more than one sympathizers of some sort on the court.