avram: (Default)
avram ([personal profile] avram) wrote in [personal profile] solarbird 2006-05-12 08:13 pm (UTC)

And the people of the United States have the right to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, under the authority of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court held, in United States v US District Court (1972), that government officials were obligated to obtain a warrant before beginning electronic surveillance even if domestic security issues were involved. Specifically, that "The freedoms of the Fourth Amendment cannot properly be guaranteed if domestic security surveillances are conducted solely within the discretion of the Executive Branch without the detached judgment of a neutral magistrate."

And why do you put "gathering intelligence" in quotes? That phrase doesn't appear anywhere within the text of the Constitution.

Post a comment in response:

This account has disabled anonymous posting.
(will be screened if not validated)
If you don't have an account you can create one now.
HTML doesn't work in the subject.
More info about formatting