
Federal appeals court says warrantless wiretapping is legal - llambda
http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2012/08/07/11-15468.pdf
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vectorbunny
If you actually read the document linked, you will discover that the 9th
Circuit Court of Appeals did not end, or even rule on, a discussion of the
legality of the NSA driven security-state. The case deals with the Al-Haramain
Islamic Foundation attempts to recover damages and legal fees in respect to
the Governments wiretapping of that organization.

What the judge found is that: "The threshold issue in this appeal is whether
the district court erred in predicating the United States’ liability for money
damages on an implied waiver of sovereign immunity under § 1810. It is well
understood that any waiver of sovereign immunity must be unequivocally
expressed. Section 1810 does not include an explicit waiver of immunity, nor
is it appropriate to imply such a waiver. Consequently, we reverse the
district court’s judgment awarding damages and attorney’s fees to Al-Haramain
under § 1810."

Al-Haramain failed to recovery money. In my reading of the decision, it will
not have significant impact on other legal challenges to FISA, The USA PATRIOT
Act, or the 2008 FISA Amendments Act. The fact that latter gives retroactive
immunity to everyone and their (big) brother is a real problem, however.

