Berkeley

Berkeley Law Project Cautions Against Dangers of Unchecked Surveillance

Published

11 years ago

December 4, 2013

By Andrew Cohen

The Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic at Berkeley Law has submitted an amicus brief in support of a federal case against the National Security Agency (NSA).

Represented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a coalition of 22 organizations—from gun ownership advocates to Greenpeace—asserts that the NSA’s ongoing practice of collecting and storing vast numbers of Americans’ phone records is illegal.

TheSamuelson Clinic brief argues that without court oversight, United States intelligence agencies risk repeating historical abuses such as monitoring political opponents and other innocent Americans.

Under the direction of Clinic Director Jennifer Urban ’00 and Senior Fellow Attorney Chris Hoofnagle, students Charlie Crain ’14, Jesse Koehler ’14, and Samia Hossain ’14 conducted exhaustive research and helped draft the brief.

“What surprised me most in our research was the extent and consistency of this overly broad surveillance that’s gone on since before World War II,” Koehler said. “Talk about bipartisan support—it has expanded consistently no matter which party held the Presidency.”

Submitted to the U.S. District Court in First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles v. NSA, the brief is on behalf of three renowned experts on the history of American surveillance: James Bamford, the preeminent chronicler of the NSA; Peter Fenn, who was a staff member to the Senate Intelligence Committee; and Loch Johnson, former staff director of the House Subcommittee on Intelligence Oversight.

All were closely involved in a comprehensive review of U.S. intelligence operations completed by a Senate committee in the 1970s.

Drawing upon its three experts, the brief reveals parallels between abusive practices of the past and today’s monitoring programs. After World War II, historical evidence shows that intelligence agencies conducted politically-motivated surveillance of Americans including Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, Martin Luther King, Jr., Senator Adlai Stevenson, Congressman Abner Mikva, White House advisers, congressional staff members, journalists, and many ordinary Americans exercising associational and free speech rights.

The brief urges the court to apply existing legal limits on government surveillance powers to address risks posed by the executive branch—and to determine the limits of intelligence agencies’ activities.

surveillance can’t be prevented by simply putting different people in place,” Crain said. “We don’t think people working at NSA are operating in bad faith. They’re asked to secretively gather as much information as possible, and the historical pattern shows that this creates expansive collection and eventually results in abuse.”

Upholding the laws

U.S. law has long recognized a First Amendment right to freedom of association and the ability to express political views as a group. In numerous cases, the U.S. Supreme Court has found that citizens are less likely to associate with organizations when they know the government is monitoring their activities and can track their interactions.

In its brief, the Samuelson Clinic calls for upholding that constitutional guarantee as well as the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). That law, designed to address concerns about overbroad monitoring, was the first statutory regime aimed at protecting Americans from domestic surveillance. But with the events of 9/11 and the major technology advances that followed, FISA protections have come under strain.

“Our brief shows that when you give the government unfettered access, the information gathered will eventually be misused for purposes that weren’t originally intended,” Koehler said. “That’s why FISA was enacted by Congress, to prevent these abuses. Allowing the government to go back to a previous pre-FISA paradigm circumvents this protective structure.”

Through its historical presentation, the clinic explains that the court needs to step in because intelligence agencies naturally expand programs over time, which leads to collecting information too aggressively. If courts fail to recognize the dangers of unchecked surveillance and the resulting constitutional violations, Crain believes it will fall on the public to push for a legislative solution—especially now that it’s easier than ever to store mass amounts of data.

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Progressive Missionary Baptist Church of Berkeley Celebrates 90th Anniversary

Dr. Earl C. Stuckey, Sr., who has served as Progressive Missionary’s pastor since September 1977, said the church also delights in the fact that it has hosted only five pastors in its 90-year history, including Pastors James E. Moore, H. A. Green, F. Douglas Farrell, and Edward Stovall, who served for 37 years.

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Progressive Missionary Baptist Poster. Dr. Earl C. Stuckey, Sr., Pastor of Progressive Missionary Baptist Church in Berkeley with his wife, Kay Frances Stuckey.

By Oakland Post Staff

The Progressive Missionary Baptist Church of Berkeley is celebrating its 90th church anniversary on Sunday, May 18 at 10 a.m. at 3301 King Street in Berkeley.

The celebration will feature Pastor Darnell Manuel of the Union Baptist Church in Vallejo as guest speaker, along with many other special presentations.

Those who wish to share in Progressive’s history can purchase a 100-page full-colored souvenir book for $25.

The church boasts a number of notable people who either regularly attended or became members of the church since its inception, including former Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson, Oakland mayoral candidate Loren Taylor, and one of the organizers of the Gospel Music Workshop of America, Helen J. H. Stephens.

Pastor Stuckey often remarks how longevity flourishes at the church — it boasts 13 centenarians (people who have reached 100 years or more). Currently, it has one centenarian who is still surviving, Mrs. Dorothy Chambers, and 14 members who have reached 90 years or more.

Recently, on Feb.17, the pastor and his wife Kay Frances, celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary.

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Faces Around the Bay: Author Karen Lewis Took the ‘Detour to Straight Street’

“My life has been a roller-coaster with an unlimited ride wristband! I was raised in Berkeley during the time of Ron Dellums, the Black Panthers, and People’s Park. I was a Hippie kid, my Auntie cut off all our hair so we could wear the natural styles like her and Angela Davis.

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Karen Lewis. Courtesy photo.

By Barbara Fluhrer

I met Karen Lewis on a park bench in Berkeley. She wrote her story on the spot.

I got married young, then ended up getting divorced, raising two boys into men. After my divorce, I had a stroke that left me blind and paralyzed. I was homeless, lost in a fog with blurred vision.

Jesus healed me! I now have two beautiful grandkids. At 61, this age and this stage, I am finally free indeed. Our Lord Jesus Christ saved my soul. I now know how to be still. I lay at his feet. I surrender and just rest. My life and every step on my path have already been ordered. So, I have learned in this life…it’s nice to be nice. No stressing, just blessings. Pray for the best and deal with the rest.

Nobody is perfect, so forgive quickly and love easily!”

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Golden State Warriors Program Is Inspiring Next Generation of Female Engineers

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Front Row: UC Berkeley Steel Bridge Team Back Row: Girls, Inc. Participants. Photo courtesy of the Golden State Warriors.

By Y’Anad Burrell

The Golden State Warriors and e-commerce giant Rakuten are joining forces to inspire the next generation of female engineers through Building STEAM Futures, part of The City Calls campaign.

Organizers say the initiative is founded on the idea that science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) are crucial fields for innovation and progress, and empowering young girls to pursue careers in these areas is more important than ever. Studies consistently show that girls are underrepresented in STEAM fields, resulting in a gender disparity that limits potential and hinders diversity.

On Saturday, March 8, International Women’s Day, the Warriors and Rakuten hosted 20 middle school girls from Girls Inc. of Alameda County at Chase Center’s Above the Rim for a hands-on bridge-building experience. The young girls from Girls, Inc. of Alameda County had an opportunity to design, build and test their own bridge prototypes and learn the fundamentals of bridge construction from the Engineering Alliance and the UC Berkeley Steel Bridge Team.

This STEAM experience for the girls followed the first session in January, where they took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Golden Gate Bridge, learning about its design and construction from industry experts. The City Calls campaign, tipped off with the unveiling the Warriors’ new bridge-themed City Edition jerseys and court design earlier this year.