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February 20, 2006
Federal judge calls for updated surveillance law
In the wake of disclosure of the National Security Agency's wiretapping program, federal judge Richard Posner's Feb. 15 opinion piece, "A New Surveillance Act," published in the Wall Street Journal, furthers the conversation. (Paid subscription needed.)
In his commentary, Posner, a U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals judge, writes that the way around all of the uproar about a previously secret policy that is unlikely to even catch terrorists (in his mind) is to enact a new statute to update the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
"National security intelligence is a search for the needle in a haystack," he writes. "It is a mistake to think that the only way to prevent abuses of a surveillance program is by requiring warrants. Congress could enact a statute that would subject warrantless electronic surveillance to tight oversight and specific legal controls...."
Posner elaborates by suggesting allowing "national security electronic surveillance" outside of FISA's current provision by asking Congress to declare a national emergency and granting the President certain powers. He says that "national security" should be defined "narrowly" and that information gathered through these techniques should be barred from being used for purposes other than national security.
A new statute isn't a revolutionary idea, nor are the ideas Posner outlines. But it does suggest an approach that would make monitoring legal, with some protections for privacy and civil liberties.
Posted by Dalia Naamani-Goldman at February 20, 2006 05:25 PM
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