Judges Hear Arguments Over NSA Surveillance

BY GENE JOHNSON
Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) – A federal appeals court is considering an Idaho woman’s challenge to the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of cellphone information.

U.S. District Court Judge Lynn Winmill in Boise, Idaho, ruled in June that the agency’s collection of such data doesn’t violate the Fourth Amendment prohibition on unreasonable searches. But Winmill also said the issue raises privacy concerns, and the case could wind up before the nation’s top court.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have joined nurse Anna Smith’s case, one of three challenging the agency’s bulk collection that are before federal appeals courts.

Her husband, Idaho attorney Peter Smith, argued the case Monday in Seattle before a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel.

The NSA has said it collects phone numbers and lengths of conversations, but does not monitor the contents of calls.