Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) /
Lawsuit and FISC Release
In a major victory in one of EFF’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits, the Justice Department conceded yesterday that it will release hundreds of pages of documents, including FISA court opinions, related to the government’s secret interpretation of Section 215 of the Patriot Act, the law the NSA has relied upon for years to mass collect the phone records of millions of innocent Americans.
In a court filing, the Justice Department, responding to a judge’s order, said that they would make public a host of material that will “total hundreds of pages” by next week, including
“O]rders and opinions of the FISC issued from January 1, 2004, to June 6, 2011, that contain a significant legal interpretation of the government’s authority or use of its authority under Section 215; and responsive “significant documents, procedures, or legal analyses incorporated into FISC opinions or orders and treated as binding by the Department of Justice or the National Security Agency ”
While the government finally released a white paper detailing its expansive (and unconstitutional) interpretation of Section 215 last month, more important FISA court opinions adopting at least part of that interpretation have remained secret. The results of EFF’s FOIA lawsuit will finally lift the veil on the dubious legal underpinnings of NSA’s domestic phone surveillance program.
This victory for EFF comes on the heels of another FOIA success two weeks ago, when the Justice Department was also forced to release a 2011 FISA court opinion ruling some NSA surveillance unconstitutional.
Like our )(EFF) lawsuit over that 2011 FISA opinion—where the government posted the results on Director of National Intelligence’s new Tumblr account—the Justice Department may attempt to portray this release as being done out of the goodness of its heart . . .
The Justice Department is releasing this information because a court has ordered it to do so in response to EFF’s FOIA lawsuit, which was filed on the tenth anniversary of the enactment of the Patriot Act—nearly two years ago.
For most of the duration of the lawsuit, the government fought tooth and nail to keep every page of its interpretations secret, even once arguing it should not even be compelled to release the number of pages that their opinions consisted of. It was not until the start of the release of documents leaked by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden that the government’s position became untenable and the court ordered the government to begin the declassification review process.
Partial List of FISC Documents: more on the link, (please read)
Here are the documents:
(If these links do not work, paste them into your browser and access them)
– br-09-13-orders-signed-3-sept-09-final-redactedex-ocr-0
– 1dec201_redacted.ex_-_ocr_1.pdf
– 4_february_2011_production_br10-82_final_redacted.ex_-_ocr_1.pdf
– br_09-06_order_and_supplemental_order_6-22-09_final_redacted.ex_-_ocr_0.pdf
(If these links do not work, paste them into your browser and access them)
Full list is on the EFF site and link below:
Our Repeal FISA Petition can be found at Lynn-weed.squarespace.com
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EFF, The Electronic Frontier Foundation
Biography
from WikiPedia
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an international non-profit digital rights group based in the United States.
EFF has taken action in several ways. It provides funds for legal defense in court, presents amici curiae briefs, defends individuals and new technologies from what it considers baseless or misdirected legal threats, works to expose government malfeasance, provides guidance to the government and courts, organizes political action and mass mailings, supports some new technologies which it believes preserve personal freedoms, maintains a database and web sites of related news and information, monitors and challenges potential legislation that it believes would infringe on personal liberties and fair use, and solicits a list of what it considers patent abuses with intentions to defeat those that it considers without merit.
. . .The Electronic Frontier Foundation was formed in July 1990 by John Gilmore, John Perry Barlow and Mitch Kapor in response to a series of actions by law enforcement agencies that led them to conclude that the authorities were gravely uninformed about emerging forms of online communication,[1] and that there was a need for increased protection for Internet civil liberties.
. . .
This generated further reaction and support for the ideas of Barlow and Kapor. In late June, Barlow held a series of dinners in San Francisco with major figures in the computer industry[citation needed] to develop a coherent response to these perceived threats. Barlow considered that: “The actions of the FBI and Secret Service were symptoms of a growing social crisis: Future Shock. America was entering the Information Age with neither laws nor metaphors for the appropriate protection and conveyance of information itself.”[2] Barlow felt that to confront this a formal organization would be needed; he hired Cathy Cook as press coordinator, and began to set up what would become the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation was formally founded on July 10, 1990, by Kapor, Gilmore and Barlow. Initial funding was provided by Kapor, Wozniak, and an anonymous benefactor.[3][4]
Read more:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Frontier_Foundation#History
Pls See Cases:
Jewel v. NSA
First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles v. NSA
Section 215 of the U.S. Patriot Act
Lavabit Case Re: NSA, DOJ and Letters is now sealed
Lavabit Case Now Sealed
Keep the Ethical Light Burning 
Really wished to express I’m just glad that i happened onto your site.
Thank you, Reagan.
We’re glad, also and to have you. Thanks. best, Lynn