Lazenby: The Shadow Supreme Court

HOW FISA IS ABUSING "SPECIAL NEEDS" DOCTRINE
America’s Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Court has become in essence a parallel Supreme Court – a “shadow” court, if you will. This has created – as The New York Times reported this weekend – a secret and separate body of law granting the National Security Agency (NSA) “power to amass vast collections of data on Americans while pursuing not only terrorism suspects, but also people possibly involved in nuclear proliferation, espionage and cyberattacks.”

Former intelligence officers familiar with the court’s classified opinions told the Times that the 11-member court, which originally focused on approving wiretapping orders in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, has dramatically expanded its role. It has been addressing broad constitutional questions and establishing important judicial precedents without the same public scrutiny given to Supreme Court orders.

Thus, a growing body of law regarding the surveillance of American citizens is being issued from a court whose orders remain sealed.

More