MCLU Expresses Disappointment Over Court Dismissal of Lawsuit
Decision in ACLU v. NSA Could Harm Mainers’ Privacy Rights

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, July 06, 2007

Portland- The Maine Civil Liberties Union Foundation announced its disappointment today over a federal appeals court’s dismissal of a lawsuit, ACLU vs. NSA, challenging the Bush administration’s warrantless spying program.  Maine made national news in May of 2006 when Mainers challenged warrantless NSA spying by means of a citizens’ complaint filed with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).

“The court dismissed today’s case because the plaintiffs could not prove with certainty that they had been wiretapped by the NSA even though they had a well-founded reason to believe that was the case,” said John Paterson, an MCLU cooperating attorney with Bernstein Shur who was at the ACLU v. NSA oral argument in Ohio.  “It is unfathomable that the National Security Agency will be allowed to continue its practice of spying on innocent Americans without a warrant.”

Whether or not Mainers were being spied upon by the National Security Agency was the subject of the 2006 PUC complaint, which was supported by the Maine Civil Liberties Union Foundation, the Maine Public Advocate, and almost 400 Mainers.  That complaint became the model for several other inquiries across the nation aimed at discovering the extent of the National Security Agency’s warrantless surveillance program. 

“Today’s decision means that concerned activists like the Mainers in the PUC privacy complaint may not have the ability to challenge illegal spying in court, even if they suspect that they may indeed be subject to warrantless surveillance,” said Shenna Bellows, MCLU Executive Director. 

The Department of Justice responded to the complaint by suing the Maine Public Utilities Commissioners and Verizon to prevent the PUC from asking Verizon questions about the program and preempt any further investigations into whether Verizon broke the law.  The case, United States v. Adams et al, was later consolidated with similar DOJ lawsuits in response to similar actions around the nation and transferred to California.  No decision has been issued in that case.

“We are deeply disappointed by the court’s failure to place a check on the Bush administration’s warrantless surveillance program or even review the merits of the program,” said Bellows.  “It is more important than ever for Congress to put a stop to illegal spying in America.”

Today’s 2-1 ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturns a decision in a lower court in Michigan in which U.S. District Court Judge Anna Diggs Taylor ruled that the National Security Agency warrantless surveillance program was illegal and unconstitutional.  In a decisive repudiation of the government’s arguments Taylor had ruled that the government could not engage in wiretapping or continue to collect data without a warrant. 

Notably, in dismissing the case today the court did not uphold the legality of the NSA program.  In fact, the only judge to discuss the merits of the case clearly and unequivocally declared that the program violated the law.

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