Unfortunately, we probably won’t get an actual review of the merits of “Mayfield v. United States due to a lack of standing. But just for kicks, and on the off chance that someday a plaintiff might be able to get to the merits, an analysis of Judge Ann Aiken’s decision regarding FISA is worth while.

In the Plaintiffs’ (Mayfields’) Amended Complaint, attorney Gerry Spence seeks the following on behalf of his clients:

Plaintiffs seek a declaratory judgment that 50 U.S.C. §§ 1804 and 1823, as amended by the Patriot Act, violate the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, on their face, because they:

a. permit the federal government to perform covert physical searches and electronic surveillance and wiretaps of the home, office and vehicles of a person without first requiring the government to demonstrate to a court the existence of probable cause that the person has committed a crime;

b. permit the federal government to perform covert physical searches and electronic surveillance and wiretaps of a person without first requiring the government to demonstrate to a court that the primary purpose of the searches and surveillance is to obtain foreign intelligence information; and

c. permit the federal government to covertly collect, disseminate and retain information collected through covert physical searches and electronic surveillance without first requiring the government to demonstrate to a court the existence of probable cause that the person who is the target of physical searches and electronic surveillance has committed a crime, or, alternatively, that the primary purpose of the searches and surveillance are to obtain foreign intelligence information.

Based on Judge Aiken’s decision I say, Gerry Spence for next Justice of Supreme Court rather than Judge Aiken!  Read more