Anna Diggs Taylor - ACLU V. NSA

In 2006, Judge Taylor was the first U.S. judge to rule on the legal and constitutional issues of the NSA warrantless surveillance controversy. Her ruling, ACLU v. NSA, held that the domestic wiretapping conducted by the National Security Agency without court approval violates the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and is unconstitutional. She granted a permanent injunction to halt it. The ruling, whose effect is stayed pending appellate proceedings, sparked a vigorous political and legal controversy. In the same decision, she declined to rule on the legality of the alleged NSA call database, on States Secrets grounds.

The watchdog organization Judicial Watch has alleged that Taylor may have had a conflict of interest in this case, because according to Judicial Watch she is or was secretary and trustee for the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan (CFSEM), a group that made a recent grant of $45,000 over two years to the ACLU of Michigan, the winning plaintiff in ACLU v. NSA.

Taylor's ruling was subsequently overturned by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. The Circuit Court ruled 2-1 that the people bringing the suit did not have standing. The Court's decision vacated the portion of Taylor's ruling concerning warrantless wiretaps.