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Scoops!! Are We Safe and Free Yet?All in all, not a bad week for civil liberties: On Wednesday, Jameel Jaffer of the ACLU's National Security Project argued in the 2nd Circuit for upholding a decision striking down the Patriot Act's National Security Letter (NSL) provision in Doe v. Mukasey. Our client, John Doe, runs an Internet Service Provider and has been gagged by the NSL he received from speaking about his case. It was an active and engaged panel — Judges Calabresi, Newman, and Sotomayor. They had allocated 15 minutes for each side, but in the end they kept the lawyers up there for almost two hours (!)— an almost unheard of stretch in the 2nd Circuit. Our fingers are crossed that the panel will agree with the district court ruling that the gag order violates the First Amendment and the principle of separation of powers. At the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) yesterday, the news was less cheery: They issued an opinion denying our motion for leave to participate in proceedings relating to the meaning, scope, or constitutionality of the FISA Amendments Act. This ruling indicates that the FISC will decide legal issues that affect all Americans' privacy rights in compete secrecy. The FISA Amendments Act allows the President virtually unfettered access to the international phone calls and emails of anyone on U.S. soil. As Jameel says in a statement: "The intelligence court should not be deciding important constitutional issues in secret judicial opinions issued after secret hearings at which only the government is permitted to appear.” An excellent development in our Torture FOIA lawsuit: the judge issued an order yesterday requiring the government to get on with processing the three 2005 memos relating to waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation methods," authored by Steven Bradbury, of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). That's right, the same OLC from whence John Yoo came. One last note: The government filed its brief in the Mohammed v. Jeppesen case. (Our suit against the Boeing subsidiary for accommodating and servicing the CIA's extraordinary rendition program. It's now before the 9th circuit.) Our reply is due in three weeks. Check back for developments...
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Aug 30th, 2008 at 3:32pm
It does not appear that there is much discussion on your blogs. With the ever increasing assault on the rights of citizens, I find it strange. I have been searching the site for a reference to family rights, and have yet to find anything mentioned other than the high profile Eldorado case. What about all of the local (Texas) cases where the abuse of power seen with Child Protective Services is a daily event? We need to concentrate efforts on policing the CPS and at the very least, ensure the 4th and 14th amendment rights are taken into account by investigators and judges in order to stop some of the unnecessary damage sustained by families, indeed children.
Aug 30th, 2008 at 5:19pm
Not a bad week for civil liberties? Oh my. You apparently missed the DNC in Denver! The police presence was unbelievable. They shut down free speech and peaceable assembly every chance they got. It has already started in Minneapolis with the raids on private residences to scuttle possible acts of civil disobedience.
I don't want to take away from recent ACLU victories. I wore my ACLU t-shirt in Denver this week and was amazed at the number of people who gave me the thumbs up and other words of encouragement. From businessmen to young idealists, everyone seems to understand that the ACLU may be the only thing standing between us and complete subjugation to the police state and the Department of Homeland Security.
Power to the people! Long live the Bill of Rights!
Aug 30th, 2008 at 10:40pm
Hate to break it to ya fellas, but this week was hardly ideal when you consider all the illegitimate police action taking place at both Democratic and Republican conventions.
Aug 31st, 2008 at 5:16pm
And then there was the DC Circuit saying it's illegal to test your meat for mad cow disease because . . .because the government says you can't do it. So THERE!
You seem to have awfully low standards when declaring a good week for civil liberties.
Oct 25th, 2008 at 1:55am
On the question of the 2nd Amendment. What I find disappointing is that when I state that I want to own a weapon to defend my family, gun control advocates cleverly twist it around to make it sound wrong. They go right to assault weapons and make us sound like backward barbarians. Frankly, you should be supporting me; even if you disagree. Evil exists. Whether you chose to dismiss it to advance your argument is your business. Just don't impose your agenda on me if I disagree with you. You can go back and forth interpreting what the 2nd Amendment is trying to say but the bottom line is I refuse to give up my right to defend my family by whatever means I see fit. I am not willing to allow my family to fall victim to crime so gun control advocates can advance their agenda and completely dismiss the consequences of those actions (meaning that criminals will not abide by your gun control legislation leaving us unarmed and at their mercy). I truly believe in all 10 Bill of Rights without exception. I am willing to die to preserve you right to voice your liberal opinions, even if I detest what you have to say. Are you willing to do the same for me? What scares me is that I don’t know if I can count on you.