meta-roj

(and this time, i mean it)

it’s hard to find on the news so far today, but the ruling itself (in ACLU v. NSA) is available here [pdf]

XI. Conclusion

For all of the reasons outlined above, this court is constrained to grant to Plaintiffs the Partial
Summary Judgment requested, and holds that the TSP violates the APA; the Separation of Powers
doctrine; the First and Fourth Amendments of the United States Constitution; and the statutory law.
Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss the final claim of data-mining is granted, because litigation
of that claim would require violation of Defendants’ state secrets privilege.

The Permanent Injunction of the TSP requested by Plaintiffs is granted inasmuch as each of
the factors required to be met to sustain such an injunction have undisputedly been met.59 The
irreparable injury necessary to warrant injunctive relief is clear, as the First and Fourth Amendment
rights of Plaintiffs are violated by the TSP. See Dombrowski v. Pfister, 380 U.S. 479 (1965). The
irreparable injury conversely sustained by Defendants under this injunction may be rectified by
compliance with our Constitution and/or statutory law, as amended if necessary. Plaintiffs have
prevailed, and the public interest is clear, in this matter. It is the upholding of our Constitution.

As Justice Warren wrote in U.S. v. Robel, 389 U.S. 258 (1967):

Implicit in the term ‘national defense’ is the notion of defending
those values and ideas which set this Nation apart. . . . It would
indeed be ironic if, in the name of national defense, we would
sanction the subversion of . . . those liberties . . . which makes the
defense of the Nation worthwhile. Id. at 264.