Judge Collyer Named to Intelligence Surveillance Court
Judge Rosemary M. Collyer of the D.C. District Court was appointed by the Chief Justice of the United States to a seven year term on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The Court provides a measure of judicial oversight over surveillance activities under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, as amended.
Judge Collyer’s term on the FIS Court began on March 8, 2013 and will conclude on March 7, 2020. She replaces Judge John D. Bates, whose term ended on February 21. Her appointment was confirmed by Sheldon Snook, spokesman for the Court.
A roster of the current membership of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court can be found here.
The Court has acknowledged receipt of a letter from several members of the Senate requesting that the Court prepare summaries of its legal interpretations of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in order to facilitate their declassification and public release. But no further action has yet been taken by the Court, as far as could be determined.
Judge Collyer was appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush. In September 2011, she authored an opinion accepting the CIA’s view that for the CIA merely to acknowledge the fact that it had an interest in the use of drones for targeted killing would pose unacceptable damage to national security.
Today, the DC District of Appeals unanimously reversed Judge Collyer’s decision. The appeals court said the CIA was adhering to “a fiction of deniability that no reasonable person would regard as plausible.” The case — American Civil Liberties Union v. Central Intelligence Agency — was remanded to Judge Collyer for further processing.
The emphasis on interagency consensus, while well-intentioned, has become a structural impediment to bold or innovative policy options. When every agency effectively holds veto power over proposals, the path of least resistance becomes maintaining existing approaches with minor modifications.
The Federation of American Scientists supports H.R. 471, the re-introduction of the Fix Our Forests Act.
As people become less able to distinguish between what is real and what is fake, it has become easier than ever to be misled by synthetic content, whether by accident or with malicious intent. This makes advancing alternative countermeasures, such as technical solutions, more vital than ever before.
Throughout this phase of work, there are many actions hiring managers and staffing specialists can take to streamline the process and improve the quality of eligible candidates. Most importantly, hiring managers and staffing specialists can collaborate within and across agencies to expedite and simplify the process.