FISA Court Appointments, Potential Reforms, and More from CRS
It was announced today that Chief Justice Roberts has appointed Judge James E. Boasberg of the DC District Court to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for a seven year term beginning in May 2014. He will replace the outgoing Presiding Judge Reggie Walton, whose term expires in May. The Chief Justice also appointed Judge Richard C. Tallman of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review.
The current membership of the FISA Courts can be found here.
Background information on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and potential changes to its operations were discussed in a new report from the Congressional Research Service. See Reform of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Courts: Procedural and Operational Changes, January 16, 2014.
Relatedly from CRS, see Introducing a Public Advocate into the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s Courts: Select Legal Issues, October 25, 2013
Other new and updated CRS reports that Congress has withheld from online public distribution include the following.
The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics: Security and Human Rights Issues, January 26, 2014
The National Defense Authorization Act for FY2012 and Beyond: Detainee Matters, January 27, 2014
Cuba: U.S. Policy and Issues for the 113th Congress, January 29, 2014
Cuba: U.S. Restrictions on Travel and Remittances, February 4, 2014
Mexico: Background and U.S. Relations, January 30, 2014
Status of Mexican Trucks in the United States: Frequently Asked Questions, January 3, 2014
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): Background, Legislation, and Policy Issues, January 23, 2014
This report serves as a landscape assessment and toolbox from which local governments can negotiate an informed position when it comes to the levers available to them and includes a first-of-its kind analysis of eight executed community benefits agreements.
When a hurricane hits, it’s all hands on deck – that goes for federal data, too. Pulling back from our investments in timely, accurate, and accessible public data will only make us less prepared and put us all at greater risk.
This is bigger than a singular elimination of race and ethnicity questions. It could accelerate the second wave of widespread reductions to demographic data, leaving public health officials with even less information to deliver better health outcomes for all Americans.
Soft law was never meant to be a permanent solution. Treating it as one, and letting the sandcastle stand in for the skyscraper indefinitely, is how we end up with a decade of voluntary commitments and no enforceable accountability to show for it.