U.S. Supreme Court and the Legitimization of Surveillance

The book analyzes the U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings in cases concerningsurveillance, both domestic and foreign intelligence, focusing onhow judicial activism or judicial restraint has legitimized the almostuncontrolled surveillance of American citizens by government agencies.The purpose of the research is to examine the judiciary’s impacton the scope of government surveillance and, more broadly, on thestate of American democracy and the rule of law. By reviewing themost important SCOTUS opinions on surveillance and applying thefamous “legitimate end” approach from McCulloch v. Maryland, theauthor determines which values have prevailed in the judicial interpretationof the Constitution: security or freedom. Furthermore, the bookevaluates the legal and political arguments used by the Court to justifybroad surveillance measures, including the national security paradigmand secrecy, which have strengthened the executive branch’s positionin the U.S. governmental system.