Secret Appeals Court Ruling Should Be Published
A New York Times editorial today explains why the FISA appeals court ruling on the powers of the Justice Department with respect to electronic surveillance and searches should be public in Justice in the Shadows.
"Members of the Senate, including the Judiciary Committee chairman, Patrick Leahy, have asked the court to release the arguments made by the Justice Department, and any decision it reaches."
"These documents can be abridged, so no sensitive information is compromised, but they must be released. And in the future the court should hold arguments in the open, and invite other interested parties to participate."
"Democracy, a federal appeals court in Ohio noted last month, dies behind closed doors. The federal judiciary will have forgotten this important principle if it meets with its own doors closed."
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