Clapper v. Amnesty International USA: Allowing the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 to Turn 'Incidentally' into 'Certainly'

Abstract

This Note argues that the Supreme Court should have examined the incidental interception exception to the Fourth Amendment because the nature of broad-scope surveillance has given the exception more power than ever before. The Court missed this opportunity by focusing on the imminence of the purported injury. The resulting opinion will not help alleviate the confusion regarding standing in surveillance cases or the concern about ways in which the government can invade the privacy of U.S. persons.

Keywords: FISA, surveillance, privacy, Fourth Amendment, foreign intelligence, NSA, Section 720, Section 1881a