US Government Collecting and Using Citizen Communications

[Michael Komorn]

Sometimes we joke in my office how hard it is to practice criminal defense in Michigan when there is no 4^th amendment. Unfortunately, this is not funny, and in many of the cases in our office, we see affidavits that should not pass 4^th amendment scrutiny. Constitutional protections as outlined in the US Constitution and the Michigan constitution have been eroding since the “Patriot Act”.  In many ways, under the purview of “the war on terror,” the government had been able to circumvent the most basic constitutional protections of US citizens, expanding the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to US citizens, or the use of that surveillance in domestic criminal investigations, including those completely unrelated to terrorism or national security. Controlled substance investigations are the most common of these violations. Below, my brothers and sisters at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers have set forth a call to action for us as citizens, by providing a take action link to contact your Senator and Representative to support surveillance reform or allow “Section 702” to sunset.

Thanks you for your consideration,

Komorn Law, PLLC

 

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Dear Friends,

NACDL has long expressed concern about the U.S. government collecting and storing the electronic communications of people in the U.S. without a warrant. The government uses Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a program designed to collect the information of non-US persons who are outside the country, to do just that. Members of the House and Senate have introduced a number of bills to reauthorize Section 702, as it is scheduled to sunset at the end of the year.

The bills most likely to be voted on do not fix the constitutional problems of the Section 702. Most significantly, they do not close the backdoor search loophole, which allows the government to search information collected without a warrant under Section 702 for use in domestic criminal investigations, including those completely unrelated to terrorism or national security. If these proposals are not changed, Congress will reauthorize Section 702 without addressing the surveillance program's unconstitutional overreach.

Act now - tell Congress to close the backdoor search loophole or let Section 702 expire!

Two reform bills, the USA Liberty Act and the USA RIGHTS Act, take steps to close the backdoor search loophole. If Congress cannot establish clear restrictions on the gathering and use of Section 702 data, Section 702 should be allowed to expire.

Click 'Take Action' below and ask your Senators and Representative to support surveillance reforms or allow Section 702 to sunset!

Take Action

 

[semicaregiver]

While there has been a focus on electronic communication, I wonder how many people are aware that the feds scan and save the front of all your snail mail.

The USPS currently promotes it as a benefit, by allowing you to sign up online for their "Informed Delivery" service.   They send you an email every AM with a scan of all the snail mail you will be receiving that day.   While it seems like a benefit that few people were asking for, a search of the background of the program indicates they have been doing this since 2001.

https://informeddelivery.usps.com/box/pages/intro/start.action