Lisa A. Mazzie – Page 39 – Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog

Independence Day from the Eyes of the British

Post author:Lisa A. Mazzie
Post published:July 8, 2013
Post category:Public

On July 4, 1776, the newly formed United States declared its independence from Britain. In the Declaration of Independence, the country’s founders laid out their grievances with the Crown:

The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

Among the many listed facts: taxation without consent, trial without jury, and quartering of soldiers in the colonies.

Each July 4, we celebrate that independence with parades and picnics, flags and fireworks. Nearly every man, woman, and child dons red, white, and blue in some form or another. It’s the height of American pride. (Although see here for examples of Americans having no idea why we celebrate the Fourth of July or even when and from whom we declared our independence.)

But I’ve never thought to look at the day from another perspective. Until this year.

SCOTUS Strikes Down DOMA

Post author:Lisa A. Mazzie
Post published:June 26, 2013
Post category:Constitutional Interpretation Constitutional Law Family Law Federalism Public

Just this morning, the United States Supreme Court released its opinion in United States v. Windsor, the case that challenged the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The Court declared DOMA unconstitutional in a 5-4 vote. More to follow.

Edward Snowden: Whistleblower or Traitor?

Post author:Lisa A. Mazzie
Post published:June 25, 2013
Post category:Civil Rights Computer Law Constitutional Law Intellectual Property Law International Law & Diplomacy Public

Earlier this month, I learned that as a Verizon Wireless customer, my cell phone records, and those of family, may very well be sitting in some National Security Agency (NSA) analyst’s cubicle.

According to The Guardian, which first reported the story June 5, Verizon is under a court order to turn over on an “ongoing, daily basis,” information such as “the numbers of both parties on a call . . . location data, call duration, unique identifiers, and the time and duration of all calls,” and more. However, no subscriber’s personal information or contents of a call are covered by the order.

Shortly after the story broke, Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former NSA contractor, came forward as the informant. Time Magazine quotes Snowden as saying, “The public needs to decide whether these programs and policies are right or wrong.” He has since been charged with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information, and willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person. Snowden may currently be in Moscow and is rumored to be heading to Ecuador to seek political asylum there.

Because the information that Verizon turns over is considered metadata and not communications, the NSA needs no warrant to access it. Even so, by putting together enough metadata, one can fairly easily put together a profile of who is calling whom, for how long, and from where. While no actual content is turned over to the NSA, the breadth of this program—code named PRISM—should frighten any American because the information is handed over wholesale; no probable cause or suspicion of wrongdoing needed. And, boom. The NSA is keeping tabs on you.