National Security Agency data program back in federal court

The government's bulk collection of Americans’ call records was brought before a US appeals court for the third time in as many months. At least one member of the three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle (WA) questioned the standing in Smith v. Obama.

"The injury is in the collection of the data, your honor," said Peter Smith, husband and attorney to the plaintiff, Anna Smith, a neonatal nurse who brought the suit against the government following the disclosure that the National Security Agency was collecting phone metadata on millions of customers. The appeal comes after a lower court ruled that the collection did not violate the Fourth Amendment.