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Judge quits court in protest of Bush spy program
Wednesday, December 21, 2005

A federal judge who sits on the ultra-secretive national security court resigned from the court in protest of President Bush's domestic spying program, The Washington Post.

U.S. District Judge James Robertson, a judge in Washington, D.C., resigned from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. He had expressed concerns that Bush's program -- a secret program whose existence wasn't known until last week -- was against the law. Some lawmakers, Republican and Democrat, have questioned the program and are calling for hearings.

The FISA court has 11 judges. Its former chief judge was U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, who had once objected to the way the Department of Justice was using the court. Lamberth is handling the Cobell v. Norton trust fund case.

The current chief judge of the FISA court is U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who is handling the Redskins mascot case and issued a negative ruling against the Indian plaintiffs. The decision was reversed on appeal with respect to one of the plaintiffs.

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Spy Court Judge Quits In Protest (The Washington Post 12/21)
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Spy Briefings Failed to Meet Legal Test, Lawmakers Say (The New York Times 12/21)
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Relevant Links:
U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth - http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/lamberth-bio.html
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, FAQ - http://www.eff.org/Censorship/Terrorism_militias/fisa_faq.html

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Inside Lamberth's living room (5/3)
Anti-terrorism bill expands police powers (10/4)

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