In a landmark decision, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York ruled that warrantless searches conducted under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) violate the Fourth Amendment.
This ruling, issued in United States v. Hasbajrami, marks the first time a court has made such a determination regarding Section 702, a provision long criticized for enabling warrantless surveillance of Americans, including protesters, journalists, and members of Congress.
The case centers on FBI queries conducted during an investigation of Agron Hasbajrami, the defendant. Initially, the government concealed its use of Section 702 surveillance in Hasbajrami’s case and others, reversing course only after revelations about the Department of Justice’s practice of hiding such surveillance in criminal cases.
The ruling builds on a pivotal 2019 decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which found that Section 702 queries involving individuals in the United States constitute searches requiring Fourth Amendment scrutiny. The appellate court remanded the case for further analysis, leading to the district court’s conclusion that the FBI’s actions violated constitutional protections.
Despite the Fourth Amendment violation, the court denied Hasbajrami’s motion to suppress the resulting evidence, citing separate grounds.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation supported Hasbajrami’s case by filing an amicus brief in the Second Circuit, emphasizing the need for transparency and accountability in the government’s use of Section 702.
Read the ruling here.
