--- marc <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Spying Too Secret For Your Court: AT&T, Gov Tell > Ninth. > > AT&T told an appeals court in a written brief Monday > that the case > against it for allegedly helping the government spy > on its customers > should be thrown out, because it cannot defend > itself -- even by showing > a signed order from the government -- without > endangering national > security. > > A government brief filed simultaneously backed > AT&T's claims and said a > lower court judge had exceeded his authority by not > dismissing the suit > outright. > > Because plaintiffs' entire action rests upon alleged > secret espionage > activities, including an alleged secret espionage > relationship between > AT&T and the Government concerning the alleged > activities, this suit > must be dismissed now as a matter of law," the > government argued in its > brief (.pdf). > > The telecom giant and the government are appealing a > June ruling in a > federal district court that allowed the suit brought > by the Electronic > Frontier Foundation against the telecom to proceed, > despite the > government's invocation of a powerful tool called > the "states secrets > privilege," which allows it to have civil cases > dismissed when national > secrets are involved. > > California Northern District Court Chief Judge > Vaughn Walker ruled, > however, that since the government had admitted it > was wiretapping > Americans without a warrant and that AT&T had to be > involved, the case > could go forward tentatively. The Ninth Circuit > Court of Appeals will > hear the government and AT&Ts' appeal in the coming > months.
Once state secrets are out in the open and written up in the newspaper, even, obviously there cannot be a further recourse to a state secrets doctrine (aside from any possible criticisms to which the existence of the doctrine itself could be subject), as they are no longer, in any respect, secrets (the newspaper is determinative in the same way that wedding or birth announcements cannot be sent out after newspaper publication, as everyone in theory knows). What can be done about these defences, frivolous and meritless to the extent that they virtually mock the court, on the part of AT&T other than to reject them? > > http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/03/its_too_secret_.html > _______________________________________________ > NetBehaviour mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour > Daniel C. Boyer ____________________________________________________________________________________ The fish are biting. Get more visitors on your site using Yahoo! Search Marketing. http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/arp/sponsoredsearch_v2.php _______________________________________________ NetBehaviour mailing list [email protected] http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour
