Posted by
Aaron on Thursday, August 17, 2006 6:00:31 PM
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060817/ap_on_go_pr_wh/warrantless_surveillance
Today U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor (a Jimmy Carter appointee)
ruled in favor of the ACLU that the NSA's program designed to intercept
international phone calls between individuals in the United State and
suspected al Qaida or terrorist operatives is illegal and
unconstitutional. I have yet to read her ruling, but one issue
that already strikes me as odd is the lack of standing that exists in
this case. In order to bring a case before an American court of
law, the plaintiff must prove that damage has been done to him or
her. Not in this case though. In this case the plaintiffs
just believed their overseas calls could be possible targets for the
program, but possessed no proof that their calls were being
monitored. A gut feeling that one's calls are or could be
listened to can hardly be considered proof of that action.