NSA Phone Metadata Program Likely Unconstitutional: Fed. Judge

<p>For the first time in open court, a federal judge has ruled that the NSA's phone metadata program, which collects information on almost all calls in the nation, <a title="Judge: NSA phone program likely unconstitutional" href="http://www.politico.com/story/2013/12/national-security-agency-phones-ju... target="_blank">is likely unconstitutional</a>.</p>
<p>In a suit filed by legal activist Larry Klayman, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon granted a motion by Klayman to put the phone surveillance program on hold while the court determines whether or not it violates Klayman's (and other Americans') constitutional rights, reports Politico.</p>
<p>What does the judge's ruling mean for NSA surveillance?</p>
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<p><strong>NSA Spying on Uncertain Legal Ground</strong></p>
<p>The National Security Administration (NSA) has done its best since ex-contractor <a title="NSA, FBI Surveillance: Legally Justified?" href="http://blogs.findlaw.com/blotter/2013/06/nsa-fbi-surveillance-legally-ju... target="_blank">Edward Snowden's revelations about PRISM</a> and other surveillance projects to both minimize and legally justify its allegedly illegal actions.</p>
<p>This latest ruling was one of many recent court decisions concerning the controversial phone program. In June, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals <a title="NSA Warrantless Wiretapping Lawsuit's Dismissal Affirmed" href="http://blogs.findlaw.com/decided/2013/06/nsa-warrantless-wiretapping-law... target="_blank">shut down a six-year-old case by the Center for Constitutional Rights</a> (CCR) which alleged that the NSA's warrantless wiretapping of phones was unconstitutional. The problem in that case, as in others, was that the CCR didn't provide the court with proof that the NSA was spying on its members.</p>
<p>NSA phone surveillance was also upheld by the now-notorious <a title="What Is a FISA Court?" href="http://blogs.findlaw.com/law_and_life/2013/06/what-is-a-fisa-court.html" target="_blank">FISA courts</a>, the secret courts which have granted legal go-aheads to the FBI and NSA for their spying over the last decade. In September, a FISA court judge ruled that the <a title="NSA Phone Data Program Constitutional, FISA Court Rules" href="http://blogs.findlaw.com/decided/2013/09/nsa-phone-data-program-constitu... target="_blank">NSA's phone program may have been skirting unconstitutional action</a>, but it was still constitutional.</p>
<p>Judge Leon's decision on Monday is a decisive victory for opponents of the NSA's surveillance, when many courts before have simply affirmed the NSA's efforts.</p>

Read more at http://blogs.findlaw.com/decided/2013/12/nsa-phone-metadata-program-like...