Federal Judge Rules NSA Phone Snooping Probably Unconstitutional

On Monday a Federal Judge ruled that the National Security Agency’s telephone snooping operation is probably unconstitutional.  U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon found that the program probably violates the fourth amendment, which prohibits unreasonable search and seizures. 

The judge also said the Department of Justice failed to demonstrate that the snooping had helped stop terrorist attacks. 

“I cannot imagine a more ‘indiscriminate’ and ‘arbitrary invasion’ than this systematic and high-tech collection and retention of personal data on virtually every single citizen for purposes of querying it and analyzing it without judicial approval,” wrote Leon, an appointee of President George W. Bush.

Leon wrote a 68 page opinion on the case, which was filed by Larry Klayman. The judge issued a preliminary injunction against the NSA from collecting data on Klayman and one of his clients.