FAS

Two New Judges for the FISA Court

05.18.09 | 1 min read | Text by Steven Aftergood

The Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court has appointed two new judges to the eleven-member Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a spokesman for the Court said today.

Judge Thomas F. Hogan of the D.C. District Court and Judge Susan Webber Wright of the Eastern District of Arkansas were each appointed to seven-year terms on the Court, expiring May 18, 2016, said spokesman Sheldon Snook.

They replace Judge Robert C. Broomfield and Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, whose terms on the FIS Court expired today.  Judge John D. Bates, who was appointed to the Court in 2006, takes over from Judge Kollar-Kotelly as Presiding Judge of the Court.

The FIS Court reviews government applications for electronic surveillance and physical search of suspected foreign intelligence and terrorist targets under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. The current membership of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court may be found here.