Appeals court may let NSA lawsuits proceed

APPEALS COURT MAY LET NSA LAWSUITS PROCEED
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Declan McCullagh]
A federal appeals court on Wednesday appeared unwilling to end a pair of lawsuits that claim the Bush administration engaged in widespread illegal surveillance of Americans. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals repeatedly pressed Gregory Garre, the Bush administration's deputy solicitor general, to justify his requests to toss out the suits on grounds they could endanger national security by possibly revealing "state secrets." Judge Harry Pregerson wondered: "We just have to take the word of members of the executive branch that it's a state secret. That's what you're saying, isn't it?" A moment later Judge Michael Hawkins suggested that granting the request could "mean abdication" of our duties.
http://news.com.com/Appeals+court+may+let+NSA+lawsuits+proceed/2100-1028...

* U.S. Defends Surveillance to 3 Skeptical Judges
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/16/washington/16nsa.html
(requires registration)