Op-ed:
Leon vs. Pauley...our freedoms rest on the final outcome
By: Diane Sori
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall
not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause,
supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place
to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." - The Fourth
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
Well we all knew this was coming didn't we as yesterday U.S. District
Judge William Pauley betrayed our Constitution by negating our right to
privacy as per the Fourth Amendment. And he did so with his ruling that
the National Security Agency's (NSA) 'sticking their nose into
our private business' phone-tracking program is indeed legal.
Negating the December 16th ruling that came down from U.S. District
Court Judge Richard Leon that stated the NSA's surveillance program is
actually unconstitutional, Judge Pauley justified his ruling by stating that
what the NSA is doing
"represents the government's counter-punch" needed
to eliminate al-Qaida's terror network by connecting fragmented and
fleeting communications.
But didn't Obama say al-Qaeda is decimated and on the run...but I digress...
And so I say NO way to Pauley's ruling as all that needs to be done
is to listen in on those of a 'certain' ethnicity and 'certain'
religious persuasion...oh wait...that would be racial profiling wouldn't
it...the chief Obama political correctness no-no. Better the NSA spy
and invade the privacy of everyday innocent Americans than focus their
attention on those they know damn well are the only ones they need to
keep tabs on.
And so political correctness wins out yet again and 'We the People'
lose as there goes our Fourth Amendment rights to privacy and to be
protected against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Using the 'what
if' argument instead of adhering to the Fourth Amendment's 'probable
cause' wording in issuing his decision, Pauley dismissed a
lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of conservative legal activist Larry
Klayman (who wanting to turn the case
into a class action on behalf of all Americans) against both James
Clapper, the director of the NSA, and against the Justice Department. In
doing so, Judge Pauley claimed that if a phone data-collection system had been
used back in 2001 it could have
"helped investigators connect the dots
before the attacks occurred" and possibly prevented them.
To which I say NO way as those determined to kill will always find a way to do so.
And
this snooping...this out and out spying on innocent Americans just in
case they might someday maybe get involved in criminal activity should
be blatantly in-your-face unconstitutional to anyone who has even a
moniker of understanding about our constitutionally given rights and
protections.
Sadly, Judge Pauley just does NOT get it as he continued that the
government learned from its previous mistakes and
"adapted to confront a
new enemy: a terror network capable of orchestrating attacks across the
world" and that the bulk data-collection program (data mining) was part
of that adjustment.

Pretty words that negate the very heart of the Fourth Amendment
as it dismisses the underlying premise of privacy and unreasonable searches and
seizures, thus allowing the Obama government in effect to initiate a police
state...to be Big Brother...and to iron fist rule over us all.
And the problem here is that Judge Pauley's ruling should NEVER have
happened but did because the previous ruling by Judge Leon (who was
appointed to the bench by Republican George W. Bush in 2002) was issued
as a preliminary injunction against the program, which is well and fine,
but then Leon stayed his injunction
“in light of the significant
national security interests at stake in this case and the novelty of the
constitutional issues,” which allowed for an appeal by the Justice
Department, which they did post haste.
Judge Leon's ruling stated that the government
"does not cite a
single instance in which analysis of the NSA's bulk metadata collection
actually stopped an imminent attack'' yet in (Clinton appointee)
Pauley's ruling it states just the opposite.
“Surely, such a program infringes on ‘that degree of privacy’
that the founders enshrined in the Fourth Amendment,” which prohibits
unreasonable searches and seizures, Leon said while Pauley stated that
15 separate judges on the surveillance court have held on 35 occasions
that the data collection program is legal. So the final ruling to
reconcile the two opposing decisions according to the ACLU...who plans
to appeal their case to the Second Circuit in Manhattan...could be
reached by the U.S. Supreme Court.
And if it does go to the Supreme Court we are in serious trouble
if Barack HUSSEIN Obama gets a chance to shift the now somewhat
conservative leaning court...somewhat conservative because we cannot be sure which
way Chief Justice John Roberts will rule...over to an outright liberal
leaning court by his being able to nominate new leftist judges to the bench.
And if that's the case 'We the People' are screwed big time as lost on
most of those currently sitting on the bench...and assuredly to be lost on any
Obama nominees to the bench...is the fact that NO one should be able to read
our letters, track our phone calls, or monitor our internet usage,
except if there is an undeniable and reasonable suspicion that we have
committed or are in the process of committing a crime...period.
And so as the Leon ruling vs. Pauley ruling works its way through the Appellate Court and maybe up to the Supreme Court, 'We the People' can only hope and pray that the right thing is done in the end and that the Constitution's words are honored...but I won't hold my breath that they are.