Some commentators are claiming that the federal court ruling that the Obama administration’s National Security Agency surveillance program was unconstitutional strengthens the case that Edward Snowden who leaked documents revealing the extent of the surveillance is in fact a whistleblower who should be lauded instead of prosecuted. (American Civil Liberties Union, December 17, 2013, by Anthony D. Romero)
The Washington D.C. district judge ruled that the surveillance infringed on the Fourth Amendment prohibition on unreasonable searches, and that a case involving purse snatching used by a court to justify the surveillance was weak legal rationale. The judge wrote that the wholesale cataloging of phone calling records without warrants was not permissible. (Wired, December 19, 2013, by David Kravets)