US District Court Judge Rules NSA Meta‑Data Collection Unconstitutional

From Myrddin at AMERICAblog:

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon has found that an NSA program collecting telephone ‘meta-data’ is unconstitutional.

Although the ruling is stayed pending inevitable appeal, the impact on the debate on the US dirty war of drone strikes, imprisonment without trial and mass surveillance is likely to be profound.

For years, we have been assured that the NSA surveillance programs are ‘unquestionably legal’. Which of course was technically true in the sense that nobody was able to challenge the programs in court because the NSA denied they existed.

Judge Leon’s ruling strips away the cloak of legality from the NSA operations, for a time at least. It will be many months before an appeals court hears the case, and many more months before there is a ruling. The Senate will have to hold hearings on replacement directors of the NSA and national intelligence first.

...

Morale at the NSA has collapsed. Job applications are down by a third, and retention has suffered too. ...

...

It couldn't happen to a nicer more appropriate agency.

It's winter, and you know about a snowball's chance in hell? IMHO, this ruling has about the same chance in SCOTUS...