A federal court has ruled unconstitutional the FBI's practice of warrantless searches on US citizen communications collected under Section 702 of the FISA, declaring it a violation of the Fourth Amendment. This judgment follows litigation over the misuse of information obtained without proper warrants, including a notable case involving a US permanent resident arrested for terrorism-related charges. While Congress has reauthorized Section 702 until 2026, this ruling challenges the government's justification of bypassing warrant requirements in the interest of national security.
"To countenance this practice would convert Section 702 into precisely what Defendant has labeled it - a tool for law enforcement to run 'backdoor searches' that circumvent the Fourth Amendment."
"While communications of U.S. persons may nonetheless be intercepted, incidentally or inadvertently, it would be paradoxical to permit warrantless searches of the same information that Section 702 is specifically designed to avoid collecting."
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