July, 20 2009, 12:00am EDT
Oral Arguments Wednesday in FISA Amendments Act Lawsuit
ACLU in Court to Challenge Unconstitutional Spying Law
NEW YORK
The American Civil Liberties Union will be in court Wednesday for oral arguments in its landmark challenge to the unconstitutional FISA Amendments Act (FAA), which gives the government virtually unchecked power to intercept Americans' international e-mails and telephone calls. The ACLU filed a lawsuit to stop the government from spying under the FAA less than an hour after the Act was signed into law by President Bush on July 10, 2008. Recent news reports have indicated that the National Security Agency has exceeded the already overbroad limits granted to it under the FAA.
The case was filed on behalf of a broad coalition of attorneys and human rights, labor, legal and media organizations whose ability to perform their work - which relies on confidential communications - is greatly compromised by the law.
Plaintiffs in the case are The Nation and contributing journalists Naomi Klein and Chris Hedges; defense attorneys Dan Arshack, David Nevin, Scott McKay and Sylvia Royce; and Amnesty International USA, Global Rights, Global Fund for Women, Human Rights Watch, PEN American Center, Service Employees International Union, Washington Office on Latin America and the International Criminal Defense Attorneys Association.
WHAT: Oral arguments in the ACLU's challenge to the unconstitutional FISA Amendments Act
WHEN: Wednesday, July 22, 2009 10:00 a.m. EDT
WHERE: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse, Courtroom 12B 500 Pearl St. New York, NY 10007
WHO: Jameel Jaffer, Director of the ACLU National Security Project, will argue on behalf of the plaintiffs before Judge John G. Koeltl.
More information about the case, including the ACLU's complaint, a video discussing the legal challenge and plaintiff statements in support of the lawsuit, is available online at: www.aclu.org/faa
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
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