How the National Security Administration (NSA) will ultimately be collecting metadata from phone calls is unclear and faces multiple legal challenges, one involving a Portland judge with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court. The Second Circuit Court recently issued a ruling on the contentious Section 215 of the Patriot Act, regarding the bulk collection of telephony metadata. There is another case before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals accusing the NSA of illegal search and seizure.
Some legal experts have pointed out that since the recent revisions to the Patriot Act amended the law after it had expired, we could be facing a legal quagmire.
We dig into all of these legal issues, and discuss the case before Portland-based FISA Court Judge Michael Mossman, with Lewis and Clark Law School professor Tung Yin.