Ok, I'm not a lawyer. So that means classifying this motion as "BRILLIANT" might be a tad overstated, and more emotionally expressed than definitively. But it's creative. Can't deny that. And it bloody worked when every previous motion filed by EFF failed. Now Mr. Holder's DoJ must respond to the motion in court by next month.



The motion itself formally asks the court to compel the Department of Justice to release records in which the FISC found government surveillance activities to be inconsistent with the Fourth Amendment . Over the years, trying to win concessions in the FISC favoring We the People has been frustrating to say the least. In the past, the NSA and the Justice Department have been successful in hiding behind a dubious scenario wherein it created a quasi-'catch-22' dilemma, claiming aggrieved parties didn't have standing to bring a case because they couldn't prove they were illegally surveilled. But the parties couldn't prove they were surveilled illegally because the DoJ refused to release court records.

Unfortunately, this judge's decision was narrowly defined as pertaining to this single case. And we don't yet know what the DoJ's response will be.