Can the government lawfully read through your private email without you even knowing it? Can law enforcement track you wherever you and your cell phone go without any reason to suspect you of wrongdoing? What standards should apply before the government can have access to such personal information? Has the law kept up with the explosion in digital technology?

On March 6 at noon, TCP and other experts will provide an overview of the current debate surrounding efforts to reform the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), one of the laws that regulate government access to electronic communications. The panel discussion will provide a variety of perspectives on the issues before this Congress as it considers legislation designed to bring ECPA into the 21st century. The event is open to the public, but an RSVP is requested.

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The Obama administration's refusal to make public the legal rationale for its targeted killing of suspected terrorists, including American citizens, violates constitutional principles of checks and balances, according to a statement released by TCP's Liberty and Security Committee on February 25. The committee called on the president to authorize public release of all opinions from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel regarding the scope of the president's targeted killing authority along with "any other operative rules and legal guidance for the targeted killing program," redacted only to protect "properly classified information, such as the facts of a particular case or intelligence sources and methods." It also urged the executive branch to provide comprehensive information to all congressional committees of jurisdiction.

"Our constitutional system of checks and balances demands robust oversight by Congress and consideration and debate by an informed public. Neither is possible when the rules are hidden from Congress and from public view," reads the statement entitled "Lift the Veil of Secrecy on Targeted Killing," which was endorsed by 24 committee members, including former members of Congress, former high-ranking intelligence and military officials and legal scholars. The statement was entered into the record following a February 27 hearing of the House Judiciary Committee entitled: "Drones and the War On Terror: When Can the U.S. Target Alleged American Terrorists Overseas?" Also on February 27, Liberty and Security Committee members Eugene Fidell and Mary McCarthy participated in a telebriefing for Hill staff examining these issues.

TCP Senior Counsel Sharon Bradford Franklin dismissed as "woefully inadequate" the privacy and civil liberties protections in the newly reintroduced Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA). The bill, introduced on February 13 by Congressmen Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), is nearly identical to the bill that was approved by the House last year.

While the bill would facilitate arrangements for the government and private companies - such as Facebook or Google - to provide information about cyberthreats to one another, the bill would also open the door for private companies potentially sharing sensitive personal information, including possibly the content of emails, with the government. In a press statement released on the day the bill was introduced, TCP urged the House to amend the legislation in several specific ways to better protect personal privacy and civil liberties. The recommendations are based on TCP's Liberty and Security Committee report, Recommendations for the Implementation of a Comprehensive and Constitutional Cybersecurity Policy, which was released in 2012. TCP's criticisms of the new CISPA legislation were mentioned in stories in The Washington Post and Computerworld.

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On February 26, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Clapper v. Amnesty International USA (Case No. 11-1025) that the groups and individuals challenging a federal law that authorizes intercepting foreign electronic communications, even if they involve an American on one end of the conversation, could not proceed with their lawsuit because they did not have sufficient proof that their communications had been, or were likely to be, intercepted.

In a statement released to the media, TCP President Virginia Sloan said the Court's decision creates a "true Catch-22" because neither the Congress nor the president will direct the government to disclose the opinions of the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, making it nearly impossible to identify individuals actually subject to this monitoring. "Americans cannot guard their constitutionally-protected rights if even the legal rules and standards under which our government operates are kept secret," she said.

TCP's Liberty and Security Committee explained in its Report on the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 that the law authorizing the surveillance program lacks adequate privacy safeguards to avoid intrusions on Fourth Amendment rights. The Committee also urged that the opinions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court be released. Because the Court decided on jurisdictional grounds that the case cannot proceed, the courts will not address the underlying, larger issue raised in this case of the constitutionality of the federal government's electronic monitoring of targeted foreigners when one party to the conversation is protected under the Fourth Amendment.

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March 18, 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Gideon v. Wainwright. To commemorate the occasion, TCP will premiere a new documentary, Defending Gideon. The film takes viewers on a fascinating journey, from the heady days of the Gideon decision 50 years ago through the present day, and examines the challenges still facing indigent defense systems across the country.

Defending Gideon, narrated by noted actor Martin Sheen, will feature interviews with many who were involved in the case at the time, including Abe Krash, Bruce Jacob, Walter Mondale, and Anthony Lewis. Interwoven in this historical context are the present day stories of the country's failure to live up to Gideon's promise, like overwhelming public defender caseloads and insufficient resources, and the heart-rending stories of people the system continues to leave behind. You can view the film at TCP's website beginning March 19. If you are interested in a free copy of the film, or in hosting an event to screen it, please contact Mary Schmid Mergler at mschmid@constitutionproject.org.