U.S. Judge Blasts Bill to Revamp Surveillance Wall Street Journal (08/06/14) Gorman, Siobhan Judge John Bates, a federal district-court judge who has served on the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, has criticized a new surveillance-overhaul bill meant to curb data collection on Americans and establish a privacy advocate for the court. The bill has been backed by the White House and civil-liberties groups. In a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the bills leading sponsor, Bates said that the proposals for the surveillance court could inadvertently undermine the twin goals of protecting privacy and national security. The bill would require the secret court to consult with the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board to appoint at least five people to serve as privacy advocates in cases presenting a novel or significant interpretation of the law. Bates said that this could create an adversarial posture against the government and could make the government less willing to provide certain types of sensitive facts to the court.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 19:15:07 +0000