Direct appeal on NSA spying?
on Mar 31, 2006 at 2:54 pm
Lawsuits already are pending in federal trial courts to challenge the Bush Administration’s once-secret program of extending National Security Agency electronic eavesdropping to some calls involving Americans within the U.S. Now, a proposal has been made in Congress that seeks to assure a fast resolution by the Supreme Court of the legal and constitutional questions that have been raised about the program. The bill does raise significant questions about Congress’ authority to give U.S. citizens a right to bring those challenges, even if they do not have proof that they were targeted.
On Wednesday, Sen. Charles Schumer, New York Democrat, introduced S. 2468 (the text can be found here). Essentially, the bill does four things:
First, it confers a right to sue (“standing”) on a citizen “who has refrained or will refrain from wire communications because of a reasonable fear” that the communications were monitored by the government without a warrant issued by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court; (The bill’s definitions include one for “a reasonable fear.”
Second, it gives the courts authority to issue a declaratory ruling or issue a court ban on that type of surveillance.
Third, it requires the challenges to be filed with a three-judge U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., with a direct appeal from there to the Supreme Court.
And, fourth, it requires both the District Court and the Supreme Court to expedite review “to the greatest possible extent.”
The bill has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Under an already pending bill sponsored by Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court would be required to pass upon the constitutionality of the domestic side of the NSA monitoring program. Another pending bill, sponsored by Sen. Mike DeWine and other Republican senators, would simply validate the existing program by enacting it in a new statute.
