U.S. judge again rules NSA collection of phone data is likely unconstitutional
(Worthy News) – For the second time in as many years, a federal judge on Monday called the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of Americans’ telephone records likely unconstitutional, ordering a halt to the surveillance program three weeks before it is set to be phased out.
The immediate impact of the decision by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon of Washington was not clear, although civil liberties groups called it an important judicial rebuke of what Leon called an “astounding” and “unparalleled” example of dragnet surveillance.
Leon’s opinion barred only the NSA’s collection of data relating to two of the individual and business plaintiffs who filed suit, and the judge indicated that no appeal would likely resolve the question of the legality of the program before it expires Nov. 29. [ Source ]