Illinois lawsuit over NSA phone records turnover dismissed News
Illinois lawsuit over NSA phone records turnover dismissed

[JURIST] A federal judge in Chicago on Tuesday dismissed [ruling, PDF; press release] a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Illinois [advocacy website] on behalf of state residents against AT&T [corporate website] for allegedly turning over phone records to the National Security Agency (NSA) [official website] as part of its domestic surveillance program [JURIST news archive]. US District Judge Matthew Kennelly [official profile] noted that the plaintiffs, including author Studs Terkel [JURIST report], lacked standing to bring the complaint since they had no evidence that their records were given to the NSA. Kennelly based his ruling on preventing the federal government's intelligence procedures from being revealed to terrorists. The US Department of Justice [official website] has previously argued [JURIST report] that the case, as well as others related to the program, be dismissed to protect military and state secrets. Although the ACLU argued that the secrets were already revealed by media reports and congressional discussions, Kennelly asserted that the reports of the program have yet to be substantiated.

In May, the ACLU filed nationally coordinated complaints [JURIST report] against three major phone companies and the attorneys general of 20 states, requesting investigations into the legality of information allegedly provided to the NSA by the phone companies. AT&T has neither confirmed nor denied the allegations [JURIST report] that it participated in the program. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Acts of Union creates Great Britain

On May 1, 1707, the two Acts of Union went into effect, implementing the Treaty of Union and thereby uniting the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain. The Union with Scotland Act was passed by the Parliament of England in 1706, and the Scottish Parliament promulgated the Union with England Act. Learn more about the Acts of Union from the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

First US trade union formed

On May 1, 1794, the Federal Society of Journeymen Cordwainers (shoemakers) was organized in Philadelphia to negotiate wages for its members, becoming the first trade union in the United States.

Learn more about the history of the labor movement in the United States, and visit the website of the AFL-CIO, the federation of America's labor unions, representing more than 13 million workers.