Obama Says: “Piracy ends up being a huge problem overseas, and that’s an area where we’ve stepped up enforcement."
Courts Say: It is an “undisputed axiom that United States copyright law has no extraterritorial application.” Subafilms, Ltd. v. MGM-Pathe Commc’ns Co., 24 F.3d 1088, 1093 (9th Cir. 1994) (en banc)
If he tells financial institutions where to patch holes, isn't he a leaker doing critical harm to national security? We should prosecute him under the Espionage Act!
I don't think you're quite understanding some of the nuance of the issue here.
If you're arguing that the Supreme Court won't reopen the specific "standing" decision they made regarding the FAA -- you're almost definitely right on that.
But if someone with standing comes to the court, then the Supreme Court will address the merits. There are multiple cases currently pending where parties clearly have standing. Most notably, the ACLU-as-Verizon-Customer case file within days of Snowden's first leak.
Merits issues vs. standing issues are entirely different questions. The Supreme Court has sidestepped issues on standing, only to be forced to address the merits in a new case a few years later, more times than I can count. (It's been a particularly popular tactic in First Amendment cases). The Supreme Court (or at least, a variety of appellate courts) are going to be forced to address the 4th Amendment merits on this one.
And to those who think this won't reach the court, citing the statistics of certiorari grants, those are pretty misleading in this case. The cases the Court is most likely to take are (a) cases of major national political importance, and (b) cases where a Circuit split develops. This is easily a "case of major national importance." Remember: The DOMA/Prop 8 cases sailed to the top of the court's docket last year, even though they were "young" disputes under traditional court-watching criteria.
But no ARTICLE III judge has yet to address the merits, just the secret FISA court ones. The Article III judges (i.e. DC Circuit Court of Appeals, Supreme Court) are going to be FURIOUS.
I'll agree that a lot of Congressmen are every bit as condemned in this as the executive branch itself. But as Snowden's leaks have brought these stories to light, more and more Congressmen are agitating for change, as covered extensively by Techdirt. So there's some powerful Congress vs. Executive Branch dynamics at play here, too.
One thing I learned in law school is that the only thing stronger than the political party divide in America is the constitutional separation of powers divide. So whatever you may think about activist, political judiciaries, I will assure you of one thing: JUDGES DO NOT LIKE TO BE LIED TO. Especially not by their "co-equal" branches of government.
Even though the original case was 5-4 on standing, I'll officially wager that the first case to reach the Supreme Court on the 4th Amendment merits of NSA Surveillance will be 9-0 against the intelligence community.
I'll further wager that the majority opinion will be filled with glorious language like "A constitutional democracy cannot function if the government itself willfully lies to the judiciary in order to prolong their unconstitutional abuses; such behavior is but one step removed from despotism."
On the post: President Obama Makes Vague Meaningless Statements About Net Neutrality, Patent Reform And Copyright Reform
Copyright Law Doesn't Apply Overseas!
Courts Say: It is an “undisputed axiom that United States copyright law has no extraterritorial application.” Subafilms, Ltd. v. MGM-Pathe Commc’ns Co., 24 F.3d 1088, 1093 (9th Cir. 1994) (en banc)
Anyone notice a contradiction?
On the post: Would You Hire Former NSA Boss Keith Alexander For Cybersecurity Consulting?
On the post: Dianne Feinstein's Bragging About NSA Surveillance Program May Finally Result In It Being Declared Unconstitutional
Re: Sorry, no cigar
If you're arguing that the Supreme Court won't reopen the specific "standing" decision they made regarding the FAA -- you're almost definitely right on that.
But if someone with standing comes to the court, then the Supreme Court will address the merits. There are multiple cases currently pending where parties clearly have standing. Most notably, the ACLU-as-Verizon-Customer case file within days of Snowden's first leak.
Merits issues vs. standing issues are entirely different questions. The Supreme Court has sidestepped issues on standing, only to be forced to address the merits in a new case a few years later, more times than I can count. (It's been a particularly popular tactic in First Amendment cases). The Supreme Court (or at least, a variety of appellate courts) are going to be forced to address the 4th Amendment merits on this one.
And to those who think this won't reach the court, citing the statistics of certiorari grants, those are pretty misleading in this case. The cases the Court is most likely to take are (a) cases of major national political importance, and (b) cases where a Circuit split develops. This is easily a "case of major national importance." Remember: The DOMA/Prop 8 cases sailed to the top of the court's docket last year, even though they were "young" disputes under traditional court-watching criteria.
On the post: Dianne Feinstein's Bragging About NSA Surveillance Program May Finally Result In It Being Declared Unconstitutional
Re: Re: Thank God for separation of powers
I'll agree that a lot of Congressmen are every bit as condemned in this as the executive branch itself. But as Snowden's leaks have brought these stories to light, more and more Congressmen are agitating for change, as covered extensively by Techdirt. So there's some powerful Congress vs. Executive Branch dynamics at play here, too.
On the post: Dianne Feinstein's Bragging About NSA Surveillance Program May Finally Result In It Being Declared Unconstitutional
Thank God for separation of powers
Even though the original case was 5-4 on standing, I'll officially wager that the first case to reach the Supreme Court on the 4th Amendment merits of NSA Surveillance will be 9-0 against the intelligence community.
I'll further wager that the majority opinion will be filled with glorious language like "A constitutional democracy cannot function if the government itself willfully lies to the judiciary in order to prolong their unconstitutional abuses; such behavior is but one step removed from despotism."
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