From: believer@telepath.com Subject: IP: Secret Courts Approve More Wiretapping Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1998 10:50:51 -0500 To: believer@telepath.com Source: Excerpted from: ---------------------------------- From: "John C. Goodman- National Center for Policy Analysis" <ncpa@onramp.net> National Center for Policy Analysis DAILY POLICY DIGEST Wednesday, September 30, 1998 <snip> SECRET COURTS APPROVE MORE WIRETAPPING Judges in secret federal courts are authorizing unprecedented numbers of wiretaps and clandestine searches, according to U.S. Department of Justice records. The courts were authorized by the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). o During the last three years, an annual average of 760 wiretaps and searches were carried out -- a 38 percent increase from the 550 a year average for 1990 to 1994. o Since 1995, FISA courts also have authorized searches of the homes, cars, computers and other property of suspected spies. o In all, the courts have approved 11,950 applications and turned down one request. Proponents argue the surveillance reflects a stepped-up federal response to increased terrorist activity on American soil. But opponents contend that the process endangers the very liberties it seeks to protect. "There's a growing addiction to the use of secret courts as an alternative to more conventional investigative means," points out Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University. The law requires the Justice Department -- and usually the FBI or the National Security Agency -- to show the judge that the target is a foreign government or agent engaging in "clandestine intelligence gathering activities" or terrorism. Source: Richard Willing, "With Secret Courts' OK, Wiretapping on the Rise," and "Secrecy Might Be Weak Link in Taps of Suspected Spies," both USA Today, September 30, 1998. For more on Terrorism http://www.ncpa.org/pi/congress/cong9.html **************************************************************************** NATIONAL CENTER FOR POLICY ANALYSIS DALLAS, TEXAS "Making Ideas Change the World" Internet Address: http://www.ncpa.org **************************************************************************** ----------------------- NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ----------------------- ********************************************** To subscribe or unsubscribe, email: majordomo@majordomo.pobox.com with the message: (un)subscribe ignition-point email@address ********************************************** www.telepath.com/believer **********************************************