Domestic spying program gets 7-day extension from Detroit judge September 28, 2006
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
The Bush administrations domestic spying program that intercepts international phone calls and e-mails of suspected Al-Qaeda members without court orders can continue for seven more days, a federal judge in Detroit ruled Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Anna Digga Taylor, who declared the National Security Agencys program unconstitutional on Aug. 17 on grounds that it violates Americans constitutional rights to free speech and privacy, said she would delay enforcement of her decision for seven days to give government lawyers time to ask the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals for a longer stay.
The Justice Department wanted Taylor to delay enforcement of her order until the appeals court decides whether to uphold or overturn her August decision. The ACLU asked Taylor to reject the governments request.
The ACLU sued the government in January on behalf of scholars, lawyers, nonprofit groups and journalists who said the NSA program had disrupted clients ability to confer with sources to conduct research, locate witnesses and engage in advocacy.
Coppolino and Taylor traded gentle barbs during Thursdays 30-minute court hearing.
Your injunction, as far as we can see, was the first time in history that foreign intelligence has been enjoined at a time of war, Coppolino told Taylor.
In rejecting his request for a stay pending the outcome of the appeal, Taylor remarked that the government had failed to cite any steps it had taken to comply with her order.
Contact DAVID ASHENFELTER at 313-223-4490 or ashenf@freepress.com.