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I'm not 100% sure, but I think that a legislative end to the program moots any currently running judicial challenges to it. So, if Congress shuts the program do
by simoncion 12y ago
I'm not 100% sure, but I think that a legislative end to the program moots any currently running judicial challenges to it. So, if Congress shuts the program down, the Supreme Court will never get to weigh in on the constitutionality of the whole thing.
If I'm not wrong about that, I would much rather let the damn thing run for a few more years and have the Supremes kill it for good.
- tsotha 12y agoThe risk, of course, is they might rule it's legal.
- simoncion 11y agoIt seems that that risk is small: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/05/senate-intelligence-chair-constituents-i-dont-care-what-you-think https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/05/senate-intelligence-ch... (Paragraph four is most relevant, but 'graphs one through three also make good reading.) Moreover, recent court cases at all levels make it clear that the Judicial system is pretty sick of surveillance methods that rely on creative interpretations of law. If the Supremes don't get a chance to weigh in and stake this behavior through the heart, Congress will soon dismantle some or all of it, only piece the programs back together over the next few years[0]. [0] Much as Ma Bell pieced itself back together (sans Bell Labs) after the breakup.