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Saying the U.S. Department of Justice's recent efforts to expand domestic spying powers have gone too far, a coalition of civil liberties groups has filed papers with a secret review court, asking it to quash the DOJ's "radical" bid to increase its snooping capabilities.

The groups filed a friend of the court brief Friday, asking the review court to uphold a decision made in May by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), which rejected the government's efforts to expand its spying powers. The DOJ appealed the decision.

Despite new rules stipulated under the USA Patriot Act, which Congress passed shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks last year, Attorney General John Ashcroft is pushing for broader surveillance powers. He seeks to enable the DOJ to suspend ordinary Fourth Amendment requirements to listen in on phone calls, read e-mail, and conduct secret searches.

Court Unveiled

In rejecting Ashcroft's bid, the FISC made the unprecedented move of going public with its decision, saying that the DOJ's efforts eliminated federal protections against letting prosecutors direct intelligence investigations and use them for criminal prosecutions.

The FISC decision not only puts the spotlight on what some believe are excessive efforts by the DOJ to broaden its domestic spying powers, but also brought the court's existence to the public's attention. The FISC and its Court of Review were created under a law passed by Congress in 1978 authorizing federal wiretap requests in foreign intelligence investigations. Under the law, their proceedings are kept secret.

The FISC Court of Review is now charged with weighing whether these new powers are permitted under the Constitution and the USA Patriot Act.

Civil Rights Issues

For the civil liberties groups the case is already clear, however. In their brief, they say that the new powers would jeopardize citizens' First Amendment rights to engage in lawful public dissent as well as trample warrant, notice, and judicial review rights under the Fourth and Fifth Amendments.

"The price of lawful public dissent must not be a dread of subjection to an unchecked surveillance power," the brief says.

Although the groups do not know whether the court will accept their brief, they said they hope it will be considered before a ruling.

The court already held a secret meeting on the appeal September 9, and the DOJ is due to file a second brief on the appeal September 24. The Court of Review is made up of a three-judge panel appointed by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist.

The civil liberties groups lobbying for rejection of the appeal include the Center for Democracy and Technology, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

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