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Judge Rules Wiretapping Prog. Unconstitutional
SecurityProNews
Staff Writer
2006-08-18
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A federal judge ruled the Bush Administration's wiretapping policy unconstitutional on Thursday, as a violation of free speech, privacy, and provisions for separation of powers as listed in the Constitution.
The case moves next to the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, as Attorney General Alberto Gonzales vows to fight the ruling.
US District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor, who heard the complaint filed in Detroit by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), said the public interest was clear and that plaintiffs had "prevailed" in the "upholding of our Constitution." The judge ordered a halt to the practice of surveillance without warrants immediately.
The suit was filed in January after journalists and other interested parties, like Arab citizens with family abroad, petitioned the ACLU. In the government's desire to monitor terrorist networks, many believe their phone calls to have been tapped without warrants merely because they have contacts over seas. Those contacts, they say, are work or family related, and that the government should uphold citizens' right to privacy.
The government was none too happy about the ruling, with Rep. Pet Hoekstra (R-Mich.) accusing the judge of taking it upon herself "to disarm America during a time of war." White House mouthpiece Tony Snow echoed Hoekstra's sentiments, saying the wiretapping program helped stop terrorist attacks and save American lives.
But according to Taylor's opinion, the Constitution makes no allowances for the forfeiture of guaranteed rights in such times, nor does it expand the powers of the executive branch for these matters.
"It was never the intent of the framers to give the president such unfettered control, particularly where his actions blatantly disregard the parameters clearly enumerated in the Bill of Rights. The three separate branches of government were developed as a check and balance for one another."
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