Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Surveillance Case

The Supreme Court agreed to hear a case concerning the government’s use of electronic surveillance to monitor the international communications of people suspected of having ties to terrorist groups.

The justices agreed to decide whether a challenge may proceed to a 2008 federal law that broadened the government’s power to monitor international communications. The law, an amendment to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, followed disclosure of the Bush Administration’s secret program to wiretap international communications without obtaining court warrants in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. The 2008 law was challenged by Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups and individuals, including journalists and lawyers who represent prisoners held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The plaintiffs said the law violated their rights under the Fourth Amendment by allowing the government to intercept their international telephone calls and e-mails. Some of the plaintiffs say they now meet clients or sources only in person.