Filed in Detroit in 2006, the challenge was brought on behalf of several Michigan attorneys and Muslim leaders who thought they may be the targets of domestic spying by the U.S. government. They claimed that a program by the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans without court approval violated the law and their constitutional rights.
Americans without court approval violated the law and their constitutional rights.
U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor ruled in their favor after a hearing in her Detroit courtroom, an appeals court later overturned it. Today, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to take up the case, said attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union.
“It’s a sad day for civil liberties when the President violates the fundamental rights of U.S. citizens, and the court declines to address the issue or serve as a check on the abuse of power,� said Michael J. Steinberg, legal director for the Michigan chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
The administration has maintained its surveillance efforts were legal and necessary in the war on terrorism.
A spokesman for the National Security Agency, Don Weber, told the Free Press in 2006 in an e-mail that “it is important to note that NSA takes its legal responsibilities very seriously and operates within the law.”
A sad day indeed.
What the hell is going on here? What hope do we have when even the Supreme Court is unwilling to halt the lawless behavior of this criminal administration?
What have we come to when we can’t even find FOUR JUSTICES to stand up and protect our civil liberties?
[...] Steve Levine wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt [...]
The Bush/Cheney administration is not done with its assault on the Constitution and our civil liberties.
A conservative Supreme Court that includes Cheney’s pal “torture is good” Antonin Scalia and Ayn Rand disciple Clarence Thomas is a dangerous one.
Our government has already been hijacked by corporations if the Bush/Cheney junta pull off another coup or that subservient tool of the military-industrial complex, McCain, becomes president, our democracy may not survive.
Then the nexus of corruption that is Washington won’t even bother to pretend the republic is democratic.
The Supreme Court should be required in all cases to explain why they will not grant writs of certiorari. With a lifetime appointment and salary paid by the taxpayers, there should be more accountability for this group that won’t even allow cameras in the courtroom.
Instead, secrecy and nondisclosure are the consistent themes of the Court (even after Chief Justice John Roberts recited the famous line about sunlight being the best disinfectant during his confirmation hearings).
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