The New York Times editorial board points out a truth so damn obvious that we should be banging the goverment's head against the wall.
Judge Leon recognized the government’s compelling interest in preventing terrorism, but he pointed out that it “does not cite a single instance” in which the data collection “actually stopped an imminent attack.”...NYT
We've been stuck with that mushy little "court" -- called FISA -- that has no signs of a normal adversarial component. It is simply a corrupt little body with "judges" (including a Supreme Court justice) out of Alice in Wonderland.
And we've allowed it to continue along with a Supreme Court of no greater credibility or honor.
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When a federal judge does something right -- when a federal judge opens up a window for some fresh air even though the federal government is offended and/or angered by the ruling -- why not take a look at the guy and see if we can't figure out his intellectual and moral genetic structure and then go looking for more of the same? Is this Richard Leon who -- yesterday -- declared the NSA's actions unconstitutional a Clinton appointee from a liberal enclave? Oregon? A Clinton appointee? Maybe Hispanic?
Well, no. Born in Massachusetts. Appointed by Bush and confirmed by the Senate in 2002. Wikipedia has a summary that would seem to show the judge getting uppity (judicially) in 2008.
Leon was responsible for adjudicating the habeas corpus petitions of several dozen captives held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.... Boumediene v. Bush, which was eventually considered by the Supreme Court, was first heard by Leon. By August 28, 2008, Leon had 24 cases assigned to him.
The Associated Press reported Leon hoped to resolve those cases before the presidential inauguration in 2009 and was concerned that the public and the detainees will be barred from observing the hearings: "If it can't be done, I have great concern that these hearings will be virtually or exclusively classified, closed to the public and, I might add, to the detainees."
During a hearing on October 23, 2008 Leon commented on the ambiguity of the term "enemy combatant" and criticized Congress and the Supreme Court for "We are here today, much to my dismay, I might add, to deal with a legal question that in my judgment should have been resolved a long time ago. I don't understand, I really don't, how the Supreme Court made the decision it made and left that question open... I don't understand how the Congress could let it go this long without resolving."
On November 20, Judge Leon ordered five detainees released from Guantanamo Bay Naval Base due to insufficient evidence.
In January 2010, Judge Leon preliminarily enjoined the Food and Drug Administration from blocking the importation of electronic cigarettes.
On November 7, 2011, Judge Leon issued a preliminary injunction against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for ordering graphic images on cigarette packs. On February 29, 2012, Judge Leon's final ruling held that the graphic images & statements violated the commercial right to free speech, citing the first amendment of the constitution.
On January 2, 2013, Judge Leon ruled that a memo linking the Palestinian Authority to a suicide bombing that killed two American teenagers and one Israeli teen be returned to the PA or destroyed. The memo had been inadvertently turned over to attorneys for the families of the victims in a lawsuit over the killings. In a motion for a stay of Judge Leon's order, lawyers for the plaintiffs said if they return or destroy the memo, "this critically important evidence of murder will likely be lost forever.”
On December 16, 2013, Judge Leon ruled that the NSA's bulk collection of Americans' telephony records likely violated the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, though he stayed enforcement of his injunction pending appeal to the D.C. Circuit.
