An early look at the NSA surveillance case has been turned down by the Supreme Court. However, this pass does not mean that the case will not be heard by the Supreme Court at some point in the future. The same cannot be said for Germany, who is now entailing a long process to assess the spying agency’s actions.
Challenge Yet To Be Heard
The case in question is a challenge to the National Security Agency. This case began last year and was ruled on by a federal district court judge. The federal district court judge found that the NSA’s collection of surveillance and phone data was unconstitutional. The plaintiff in this case is Larry Klayman, who is an activist. Klayman had filed proceedings to have his case heard by the Supreme Court right away, but this request has been denied. This means that the case will not be allowed to skip steps before it finally gets to the Supreme Court.
The denial by the Supreme Court to hear the case immediately, simply means that the appeals process will begin from the start. The case will not be heard right away and it will have to spend time with lower courts before it winds up at the Supreme Court’s door.
What The Case Consists Of
This case was spurred on by Klayman and is referred to in legal documents as Klayman vs. Obama. Klayman initially filed this court case last year after it was made public that a bulk collection of phone metadata had occurred. This bulk collection was supported by the government using section 215 of the Patriot Act.
After Klayman’s case was heard by a federal district court judge the ruling found that the bulk collection could be in violation of the fourth amendment. However, the Supreme Court has ruled that this case should be allowed to go through the appeal process. This means that the US government should be allowed the right to appeal the district court ruling.
Reform
The program of bulk collection involving phone metadata has been transformed since the district court ruling. The old procedure allowed for phone companies to keep on record conversations and they could be accessed by government agencies. However, the policy reform has changed these procedures, but only to a small degree.
Now the case will work its way through the court of appeals before it ever gets in front of eth Supreme Court. Then it will be up to the Supreme Court to decide if it wants to hear this case at that time. One thing is for sure, it will be at a later date.
