A few items of interest from The Record on Dec 26, 2013 regarding the issue of Edward Snowden's release of thousands of documents about the NSA surveillance program. A District Judge-Richard J. Leon-said he believed the program was "probsbly unconstitutional" but it seems he had no way of making that case legally. But Snowden's disclosures have given Leon the "chance to weigh in on the matter". "Earlier challenges (to surveillance programs) were thrown out of court because civil libertarian plaintiffs couldn't prove that the NSA was collecting data about them". Now the NSA has had to acknowledge the existence of the spy program so court cases can go forward, and one is expected to reach the US. Supreme Court. There was a Supreme Court case in 1979 that the NSA claims gives them the authority to gather information. It seems that the 1979 case "held that telephone records aren't private because citizens share them with the telephone company". This, of course, is an ongoing issue with much more to follow. Till then.
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