Posted on 02/26/2013 9:54:14 AM PST by BuckeyeTexan
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A sharply-divided Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out an attempt by U.S. citizens to challenge the expansion of a surveillance law used to monitor conversations of foreign spies and terrorist suspects.
With a 5-4 vote, the high court ruled that a group of American lawyers, journalists and organizations can't sue to challenge the 2008 expansion of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) because they can't prove that the government will monitor their conversations along with those of potential foreign terrorist and intelligence targets.
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
Yeah but the founding fathers didn't trust legislation or majority rule completely. That's why they passed the bill of rights as amendments that would be hard to change.
I don’t agree with the burden shifting to the government (defendant) in those cases, but I do think the burden for proving standing in such cases should be less than the very rigid standards the courts use today in determining whether or not the plaintiffs have standing. Financial damages can be reimbursed, but the courts can’t undo the damage of violating rights and privacy. Saying “Oops! What the gov’t did was unconstitutional,” isn’t a just remedy IMHO.
Yeah tell that to the 9th and 10th Amendments.
Which is just fine for Uncle Scam. Any evidence of spying on the American people will remain secret under "national security" and any whistle blowers that bring forth evidence of this illegal activity will be put in jail.
And this no standing BS is that same reason Barry Soetoro is still in the White Hut. Apparently no citizen has standing in government courts when they try to sue the government for violating the Constitution.
- Until it infringes upon and/or mortally damages a SCOTUS Justice or Obama thou have no standing
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (or FISC) is a U.S. federal court authorized under 50 U.S.C. S: 1803, Pub.L. 95-511, 92 Stat. 1788, enacted October 25, 1978. It was established by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA).
If we wanted the USSC to reverse the terrible Kelo decision what we would do is seize all of their land-property based on imaginary numbers (called projections) for tax increases, just like New London -- and spread the same to anyone who even housed them for more than two weeks.
Alito was joined in his decision by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.
What would you expect from a gang of Republican appointees in the Earl Warren tradition.
http://www.disinfo.com/2013/02/silent-circle-the-new-encryption-app-terrifying-the-government/
The idea is to “democratize encryption” by making it available to the non-tech-savvy with the push of a button. Will this be used for good or evil? Slate‘s Ryan Gallagher explains:
The startup tech firm Silent Circle’s groundbreaking encrypted data transfer app will enable people to send files securely from a smartphone or tablet at the touch of a button—photographs, videos, spreadsheets, you name it—sent scrambled from one person to another in a matter of seconds.
The technology uses a sophisticated peer-to-peer encryption technique that allows users to send encrypted files of up to 60 megabytes through a “Silent Text” app. The sender of the file can set it on a timer so that it will automatically “burn”—deleting it from both devices after a set period of, say, seven minutes. It’s a game-changer that will almost certainly make life easier and safer for journalists, dissidents, diplomats, and companies trying to evade surveillance.
The justices said that those filing the lawsuit had no standing.
Fine.
I wish judges across America would follow this same logic when radical environmental groups file their silly lawsuits......these environmentalists have no standing either in the overwhelming majority of their lawsuits.
yes, the fisa court is a jimmah carter deal...
bushie just gave it more teeth...
and of course, fubo is putting metal incisors on the teeth bushie gave him..
The mission-impossible-style self-destruct feature is fascinating.
You raise a good point. How will the respondents prove that their communications have been intercepted? It is my understanding that Congress (a couple of reps) sent a letter to the DOJ asking how many Americans have had their communications intercepted under FISA and the DOJ responded that to answer that question would violate the privacy of those citizens.
The four liberals dissented from this decision. The majority decision was by the four "conservatives" plus the swing-vote Kennedy.
IOW enough to cause a major backlash politically if it were known. I'm guessing that it's 30% or more -- though even 10% would be disturbing.
“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” ~ H. L. Mencken
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