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Defense Lawyers Continue to Challenge NSA Warrantless Surveillance

By Jeralyn, Section War on Terror
Posted on Wed Mar 08, 2006 at 05:06:51 AM EST
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In January, I wrote about Albany, New York defense lawyer (and frequent TalkLeft reader and commenter) Terry Kindlon being the first lawyer in the U.S. to file a motion challenging the Bush Administration's NSA warrantless electronic surveillance program.

U.S. News and World Reports this week has this article describing the several legal challenges mounted since. If I had any doubt that the Government might monitor TalkLeft, it's now erased:

The government has two weeks to respond to Kindlon's motions, which he says were inspired by a popular liberal criminal defense website, TalkLeft.com, created by Denver, Colo., defense attorney Jeralyn Merritt--one of Oklahoma bomber Timothy McVeigh's principal trial lawyers. Now others, like Chicago public defender Mary Judge, are learning from Kindlon.

Mary Judge submitted a letter to the Government as I predicted lawyers would do here, and her opponent is none other than Patrick Fitzgerald:

Judge wrote a letter in January to federal prosecutors seeking to find out if NSA surveillance was used against her client, Sami Latchin, who is being held under house arrest in Des Plaines, Ill., for allegedly being an Iraqi sleeper agent for Saddam Hussein. Initially, there was no response. Then Judge wrote another letter saying she'd appreciate a reply even if was "simply, that you refuse to respond to the inquiries." Judge's wish was granted, more or less. The U.S. attorney in Chicago, Patrick Fitzgerald, responded with a crisp one-sentence note, stating that he would have no response at this time.

So, welcome Government monitors, and let me just repeat what is stated on the front page of TalkLeft and was included in my earlier post:

I'm not encouraging the filing of the motions, TalkLeft does not give legal advice, it's just an interesting thought.

More case challenges are described here and here.

Update: Heretik has some thoughts on the matter.

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    Defense Lawyers Continue to Challenge NSA Warrantless Surveillance | 15 comments (15 topical)
    Re: Defense Lawyers Continue to Challenge NSA Warr (none / 0) (#1)
    by phat on Wed Mar 08, 2006 at 12:06:37 AM EST
    You know what, I didn't realize that you were one of McVeigh's lawyers. I met Bud Welch last year and I was changed by his story more than I can possibly explain. phat

    Re: Defense Lawyers Continue to Challenge NSA Warr (none / 0) (#3)
    by wg on Wed Mar 08, 2006 at 12:45:06 AM EST
    Tom Nelson, Portland, OR area lawyer is taking a similar tack in a case that appears stronger than anything else out there. However given the prevailing winds in US judiciary I doubt any of these will get far, but one can only hope. Involving judiciary in evaluating NSA/Bush's claims is clearly a right thing to do, Congress is in no position to do effective "check and balance" things alone. BTW, Nelson has an interesting history - successful corporate lawyer who got fed up with the "system" one day and turned his back on it. The price for it was of course high, high enough to sense that he is regretting it now. Caveat emptor.

    Re: Defense Lawyers Continue to Challenge NSA Warr (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Mar 08, 2006 at 12:52:58 AM EST
    Bud Welch is a hero. For those who don't know him, his daughter Julie died in the OKC bombing. At first he was blinded by anger. Then he recalled that his daughter opposed captial punishment. He now goes around the country speaking out against the death penalty. He opposed it even for McVeigh, who was convicted of the bombing. If you get the chance to hear him speak, I higly recommend you go. Also check out Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation --a group of family members who have had one of their loved ones killed. Watching the offender be killed by the state does not bring closure or a sense of tit for tat. It dehumanizes all of us and brings us down to the killer's level. Bud Welch's book , Timothy McVeigh Killed My Daughter" is here.:
    When my only daughter, Julie, was killed, I joined a "club" that I wish had no members. The price of admission is too high. I know the pain of losing a loved one because of a senseless act of violence. Julie Marie was the light of my life. She was so bright, so kind, and so caring. She was my friend and confidante. After graduating from college, Julie worked as a Spanish interpreter for the Social Security Administration in Oklahoma City. Every Wednesday, we met for lunch at a Greek restaurant across the street from the Murrah Federal Building. Our lunch date on Wednesday, April 19, 1995 was never to be.


    Re: Defense Lawyers Continue to Challenge NSA Warr (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Mar 08, 2006 at 01:44:19 AM EST
    Sorry, Jeralyn, I didn't mean to snitch TalkLeft off. Terry Kindlon PS--That *clicking* sound you keep hearing whenever you answer your phone...it's probably just all those wires being hooked up because of the AT&T/Bell South merger. Just ignore it and pretty soon you'll get used to it!

    Re: Defense Lawyers Continue to Challenge NSA Warr (none / 0) (#5)
    by Punchy on Wed Mar 08, 2006 at 06:15:12 AM EST
    I too wanna give a shout-out to the gov't...hey, can you speed up my tax return please? Fitz, good job on the Libby thing; can you please nail Rove too before the elections? What do they call Mary Judge when she eventually goes behind the bench? Judge-squared? The Honorable Judge Judge?

    Re: Defense Lawyers Continue to Challenge NSA Warr (none / 0) (#6)
    by Edger on Wed Mar 08, 2006 at 06:15:50 AM EST
    If I had any doubt that the Government might monitor TalkLeft, it's now erased I've just assumed since I began commenting here that someone(s) in government reads your posts and the comments, even if just to laugh at all the loonie moonbats. It's too natural a fit for them not to. I also think it's likely that the NSA has monitoring software written specifically to harvest names, IP addresses and email addresses from Moveable Type powered blogs and likely that TalkLeft's reputation precedes itself. There are a few commenters here that post some pretty in your face criticisms of those in power, after all. ;-)

    Re: Defense Lawyers Continue to Challenge NSA Warr (none / 0) (#7)
    by Lora on Wed Mar 08, 2006 at 07:07:27 AM EST
    Discretion is the better part of valor, heh. Congrats to TL for getting some free publicity and a mention in the, uh, Mainstream Media. We're not scared now, of course, right? After all, this is America...

    Re: Defense Lawyers Continue to Challenge NSA Warr (none / 0) (#8)
    by Pete Guither on Wed Mar 08, 2006 at 07:10:49 AM EST
    Let's see... TalkLeft has given ideas to lawyers of people suspected of having connections to terrorism. That means... TalkLeft must be a terrorist. Ah, no need to bother FISA or any other courts with a case as obvious as this.

    Re: Defense Lawyers Continue to Challenge NSA Warr (none / 0) (#9)
    by Che's Lounge on Wed Mar 08, 2006 at 08:03:58 AM EST
    Well Pete, if the gov. breaks the law, they can always get the laws changed after the fact. Thank you Sen. Roberts. This is NOT a democracy so let's break it down and rebuild it. It's what Paine, Washington, et al would want. The experiment has failed. We need to acknowledge that before we blow up the lab ( ie Earth).

    Re: Defense Lawyers Continue to Challenge NSA Warr (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Mar 08, 2006 at 05:37:24 PM EST
    What is the dress code if government spies are going to be lurking? Are my jeans ok or is this considered a formal? Do you have enough coffee? Maybe I can bring something, say, chips and salsa.

    Re: Defense Lawyers Continue to Challenge NSA Warr (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Mar 08, 2006 at 11:36:25 PM EST
    I have plenty of coffee, but I think we should all be wearing pajamas.

    Re: Defense Lawyers Continue to Challenge NSA Warr (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Mar 08, 2006 at 11:38:35 PM EST
    Terry, I actually was very flattered...especially since my next media call was from the AARP wanting to interview me about provacative bloggers "over a certain age."

    Re: Defense Lawyers Continue to Challenge NSA Warr (none / 0) (#13)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Mar 09, 2006 at 04:35:41 AM EST
    'Cause there's some little jerk in the fbi keepin' papers on me six feet high it gets me down it gets me down Jagger/Richards '75 Some things never change And with respect to the AARP thing, consider the alternative.

    Re: Defense Lawyers Continue to Challenge NSA Warr (none / 0) (#14)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Mar 09, 2006 at 05:33:10 PM EST
    I also had no idea that Jeralyn represented Timothy McVeigh. Similarly, I had no idea that Jeralyn appeared regularly on Fox News when I first visited (for obvious reasons, I would never purposely watch Fox News). In 2003, I just happened upon the site after using Google trying to look up something about Iraq. A simple way to describe the rotten disease of prejudice, greed, and fascism running roughshod over the world right now can be found in Shakespeare's writings... "One sees more devils than vast hell can hold..."
    Not that any of the Gestapo running our current government has ever read any Shakespeare.

    Re: Defense Lawyers Continue to Challenge NSA Warr (none / 0) (#15)
    by wg on Thu Mar 09, 2006 at 10:05:26 PM EST
    If I had any doubt that the Government might monitor TalkLeft, it's now erased .. Wait till they start fooling with your Internet connection and parking police cars in front of your place.

    Defense Lawyers Continue to Challenge NSA Warrantless Surveillance | 15 comments (15 topical)