DOJ to drop bomb on EFF vs. AT&T Options

[chook]

1) If the court doesn't grant them a warrant, they can't use the evidence in court. That means that even if they're going to get a retroactive warrant, they have to make sure that they have sufficient evidence to justify a wiretap.

2) Just because the FISA court doesn't reject many warrant requests doesn't necessarily mean its lenient. How do statistics for that court compare to other courts? Are federal officers just more careful about gathering evidence for the FISA court?

3) It does make me feel better, because judicial oversight is one of the important checks & balances on the federal government that makes sure that none of the branches get too big for their britches.

The idea that anything threatening the country would receive a retroactive warrent, probable cause and everything like that. Keeps information that is not of national security from being horded. A person of power could use it to coherce compliance in an unlawful way.

I think it's funny when someone who brags about breaking the law all of the time gives the government so much shit about doing something that is in a legal gray area.

But that = entertainment, on a higher order of nobility than law

[impala454]

It prevents it in that the NSA (or other government agency) will need to make sure that they have enough evidence to support wiretapping. Yeah, they might occasionally wiretap and not be granted a retroactive warrant, but don't you think there would be some repurcusions if they made a habit of wiretapping w/o sufficient evidence?

repurcusions like what? what happened to them this time? (other than a bunch of people bitching) anybody lose their job? get pay cuts? jail time? I honestly don't know, but I doubt it.

[zetec]

repurcusions like what? what happened to them this time? (other than a bunch of people bitching) anybody lose their job? get pay cuts? jail time? I honestly don't know, but I doubt it.

how many times do i have to keep saying this:

google "German Secret Police" or "Stazi"

this shit has been done before, and it was definately with less-than-spectacular results.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stasi

it won't be any better if our government starts spying illegally on all it's citizens.

granted, the USA probably has a better means of hiding the whole operation

but it'll still go on. And it won't be pretty.

(insert black helicopters in whisper mode joke here)

[zetec]

lol writing paper on how the NSA and impala are gay for my final