Submission + - Court Dismisses (Yet Another) Case Based on State Secrets Privileg (fas.org)
Nofsck Ingcloo writes: "Secrecy News" is reporting that yet another case about the balance between the Fourth Amendment and the "State Secrets Priviledge" has been dismissed.
The case claimed that the FBI had “conducted an indiscriminate ‘dragnet’ investigation and gathered personal information about [the plaintiffs] and other innocent Muslim Americans in Southern California based on their religion.” The article reports that, "The court granted the Obama Administration’s claim that the state secrets privilege precluded litigation of the case."
The judge wrote [PDF], "...when properly invoked, [the state secret priviledge] is absolute — the interest of protecting state secrets cannot give way to any other need or interest.”
IMHO this pretty well defines a very serious problem, and it has to change.
The case claimed that the FBI had “conducted an indiscriminate ‘dragnet’ investigation and gathered personal information about [the plaintiffs] and other innocent Muslim Americans in Southern California based on their religion.” The article reports that, "The court granted the Obama Administration’s claim that the state secrets privilege precluded litigation of the case."
The judge wrote [PDF], "...when properly invoked, [the state secret priviledge] is absolute — the interest of protecting state secrets cannot give way to any other need or interest.”
IMHO this pretty well defines a very serious problem, and it has to change.
