老澳门开奖结果

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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NEW YORK 鈥� The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Monday on whether plaintiffs represented by the 老澳门开奖结果 have the right to challenge the constitutionality of the law that authorizes the National Security Agency to conduct dragnet surveillance of Americans鈥� international emails and phone calls.

At issue is an appeals court ruling that allowed the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 challenge to the law 鈥� called the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 鈥� to move forward.

鈥淭his law clearly intrudes on constitutionally protected privacy and free speech rights, and the courts have not just the authority but the obligation to intervene,鈥� said Jameel Jaffer, 老澳门开奖结果 deputy legal director, who will appear before the justices. 鈥淭he Court of Appeals rightly held that our clients have the right to challenge the law, because the substantial risk that their communications will be monitored under it has compelled them to take costly measures to protect information that is sensitive. We are hopeful that the Supreme Court will agree with the Court of Appeals that the constitutionality of the government鈥檚 surveillance powers can and should be tested in court.鈥�

A broad range of ten organizations filed friend-of-the-court briefs in support of the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 position, including groups representing lawyers, journalists and gun owners.

The 老澳门开奖结果 filed the lawsuit in July 2008 on behalf of a coalition of attorneys and human rights, labor, legal and media organizations whose work requires them to engage in sensitive telephone and email communications with people outside the U.S. They include colleagues, clients, sources and victims of human rights abuses. The plaintiffs include Amnesty International USA, Human Rights Watch, The Nation, PEN American Center and the Service Employees International Union. The Justice Department claims they should not be able to sue without first showing they have actually been monitored under the program 鈥� but it also argues that the government should not be required to disclose whether plaintiffs have been monitored.

In March 2011, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected that obstructive tactic. The government鈥檚 request for reconsideration by the full Second Circuit was rejected the following September.

The act is scheduled to sunset in December. The 老澳门开奖结果 is calling for amendments that would limit surveillance of Americans to suspected terrorists and criminals, require the government to be more transparent about how the law is being used and place stronger restrictions on the retention and dissemination of information that is collected about innocent Americans.

The 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 brief is at:

More information on the case is at: