EFF Battles Effort to Dismiss Surveillance Lawsuit
San Francisco - The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals announced
today that it will hear the U.S. government's and AT&T's appeal of
a district court's decision allowing the Electronic Frontier
Foundation's (EFF's) case against AT&T to go forward. The lawsuit
alleges that AT&T collaborated in the National Security Agency's
(NSA's) illegal spying program. The 9th Circuit did not rule on the
merits of the appeal.
By this appeal, the U.S. government and AT&T are asserting that
the so-called "state secret privilege" prevents the federal judiciary
from determining whether the spying program is legal or not. In July,
U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Judge Walker ruled that the case could
continue, noting that "The compromise between liberty and security
remains a difficult one. But dismissing this case at the outset would
sacrifice liberty for no apparent enhancement of security."
"It remains the province and the duty of the courts to determine
whether the spying program broke the law, and the courts are quite
capable of proceeding while respecting both liberty and security," said
EFF Staff Attorney Kurt Opsahl. "We are looking forward to litigating
before the 9th Circuit on this important matter."
11:50:16 PM 
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