to answer. The U.S. government asserted that the lawsuit should be
dismissed because it would disclose state secrets; in his order of
dismissal, the judge "declines to rule" on this claim, since the
standing issue was sufficient cause to toss the suit.
Walker's justification for dismissing the case may strike some as a classic cartwheel of legal reasoning. (The "right to
have the government act in accordance with the law" can't be upheld in
court?) In fairness, the ruling notes that the strict
standards for gauging plaintiffs' standing act as a
filter to prevent courts from being deluged with claims involving
social problems that are better aired and addressed through the
political process.
One might argue that the political debate that followed The New York Times' 2005 story on the illegal surveillance -- and eventual repudiation of Bush's party at the ballot box in 2008 -- did just that.
Photo | hughelectronic
