Friday, July 6, 2007

More--or Maybe Less-on Standing

A federal court once again rules against plaintiffs in a lawsuit, not on the merits of the case, but because they lacked standing to bring the case forward. That's to say that they have not been able to prove that they have suffered harm as a result of the law's implementation.

This case involves warrant-less wire tapping, and whether particular people(non terrorists: academics, journalists and the like) have had their messages intercepted without warrants. If so, this would be a clear violation of the 4th amendment, but the problem for the plaintiffs is proving that they have been wiretapped. The executive claims this information is top secret and they cannot be forced to reveal whether it has occurred.

Genius.