Federal Judge Clears Path for Suit Challenging Warrantless Wiretaps

[sabra]

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202427240107

A federal judge on Monday cleared the way for a groundbreaking suit that would let lawyers peek behind the curtain of the Bush administration's warrantless electronic surveillance program.

Northern District of California Chief Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that lawyers for Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation can access material long held secret by the government. But he also wrote that the press and the public must now be kept largely in the dark.

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Anthony Coppolino, the government's lead counsel, referred requests for comment Monday afternoon to Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller, who said the DOJ is "currently reviewing the court's ruling."

Walker's decision sets in motion a process that seemed unlikely a few months ago: The government must now give Walker a copy of the secret document within two weeks and complete top-secret security clearances for Eisenberg and up to two other plaintiffs lawyers by Feb. 13, so that they can also review the document.

The public, however, could be excluded, Walker wrote.