Specter strikes NSA deal

Specter strikes NSA deal: "An expert in constitutional law and national security, however, said that the change would allow the administration to throw up huge obstacles to anyone seeking to challenge the program’s legality.

The agreement appears to pave the way for the committee to approve Specter’s bill and one sponsored by Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) granting the surveillance program legal authority. GOP aides say the chances of the bills’ reaching the Senate floor this year are unknown because of a crowded schedule and the dwindling number of workdays left this session.

Legal standing is a crucial question in every case heard before a federal court. Lawyers and legal experts widely acknowledge that a plaintiff cannot bring a case to a federal court if the plaintiff has not suffered damage.

In other words, individuals or groups that merely take an interest in a case, such as a privacy-rights advocacy group in the example of the surveillance program, cannot ask for a ruling from a federal court. Because the administration can use questions of standing and other tactics to keep plaintiffs out of court, the requirement that a plaintiff challenge the surveillance program — instead of mandating that the administration itself ask for a ruling on the program’s legality — gives the White House an important advantage."