Judge Claire V. Eagan of the Northern District of Oklahoma was appointed
this month to the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court by the Chief
Justice of the United States.
Her term on the FIS Court began on February 13, 2013 and will extend until
May 18, 2019. She replaces Judge Jennifer B. Coffman, who retired on
January 8 before the end of her term. Another appointment, to replace
outgoing Judge John D. Bates, whose term ends tomorrow, is imminent, said
Sheldon Snook, spokesman for the Court.
The FIS Court authorizes electronic surveillance and physical searches for
intelligence and counterterrorism purposes. The current membership of the
Court is listed here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/doj/fisa/court2013.html
Judge Eagan was appointed to the federal bench by President George W. Bush
in 2001.
The FIS Court has been discussed lately as a potential model for some form
of judicial review of the use of drones in lethal strikes against suspected
terrorists. Speaking at the February 7 confirmation hearing of John Brennan
to be CIA Director, Senate Intelligence Committee chair Sen. Dianne
Feinstein said her Committee would examine "the proposal to create an
analogue of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to review the
conduct of such strikes."
But the application of the FISA model for authorizing intelligence
surveillance to the substantially different issue of lethal targeting would
not be straightforward, and may not be appropriate at all.
The notion "that federal judges ought to be assigned the task of
monitoring, mediating and approving the killer instincts of our government
[...] is a very bad idea," wrote Judge James Robertson, a former FIS Court
member, in the Washington Post ("Judges shouldn't decide about drone
strikes," February 15).
UNCONVENTIONAL MONETARY POLICY, AND MORE FROM CRS
New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that
Congress has chosen not to make available to the public include the
following.
Federal Reserve: Unconventional Monetary Policy Options, February 19,
2013:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42962.pdf
Federal Assault Weapons Ban: Legal Issues, February 14, 2013:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42957.pdf
Pharmaceutical Patent Settlements: Issues in Innovation and
Competitiveness, February 15, 2013:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42960.pdf
Unauthorized Aliens: Policy Options for Providing Targeted Immigration
Relief, February 13, 2013:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R42958.pdf
Cars, Trucks, and Climate: EPA Regulation of Greenhouse Gases from Mobile
Sources, February 14, 2013:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40506.pdf
Japan-U.S. Relations: Issues for Congress, February 15, 2013:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33436.pdf
Exemptions for Firearms in Bankruptcy, February 15, 2013:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41799.pdf
_______________________________________________
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Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
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