Court guts right to sue over illegal surveillance

Right-wing judicial activism by the federal judiciary seems to be the story of the day.

Yesterday, U.S. DIstrict Judge Vaughn Walker (who was appointed by the elder Bush) dismissed the case of Jewel v. NSA. This case was filed by AT&T customers suing over the NSA's surveillance scandal - in which telcom giants helped the government spy on millions of average Americans' phone calls and e-mails. (AT&T was one of the worst offenders at conspiring with the Bush regime's spying.)

The judge's "reasoning" was that the privacy harm wasn't a "particularized injury" because almost everyone in the country has phone or Internet. In other words, government and corporate spying is legal as long as almost everybody in America has the potential to be affected.

Is this some sort of sick joke?

(Source: http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/01/21)