A civil rights lawyer says the American Civil Liberties Union is very disappointed that a New York judge has found that a government program that collects millions of Americans' telephone records is legal.

Attorney Brett Max Kaufman said the ACLU will appeal Friday's ruling by federal Judge William Pauleyin Manhattan. The judge concluded that the program was legal and a valuable part of the nation's efforts to combat the threat of terrorism. The judge said the phone collection program only works because it collects everything.