A federal court judge ruled Thursday that a National Security Agency surveillance program conducted since shortly after September 11, 2001, is unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit ruled (PDF) that the terrorist surveillance program violated the rights of the people to speech and privacy, as well as violated the separation of powers doctrine.

“It was never the intent of the Framers to give the president such unfettered control, particularly where his actions blatantly disregard the parameters clearly enumerated in the Bill of Rights,” she wrote, in a decision that the White House and Justice Department said they would fight to overturn. A hearing will be held before Judge Taylor on Sept. 7, and her decision will not be enforced in the meantime. — New York Times

Under the program, authorized by President George W. Bush, the National Security Agency listened to telephone calls between the U.S. and other countries when one of the parties had suspected links to terrorists or terrorist organizations.

The U.S. Justice Department appealed the ruling and issued a statement saying the program is “an essential tool for the intelligence community in the war on terror.”

“In the ongoing conflict with al-Qaida and its allies, the president has the primary duty under the Constitution to protect the American people,” the department said. “The Constitution gives the president the full authority necessary to carry out that solemn duty, and we believe the program is lawful and protects civil liberties.”

White House spokesman Tony Snow said the Bush administration’s “Terrorist Surveillance Program” is “firmly grounded in law and regularly reviewed to make sure steps are taken to protect civil liberties.” — MSNBC

Obviously there is some disagreement about the law this program is firmly grounded in. The Justice Department has said in court that it would have to reveal state secrets in order to discuss the legal justification for the program.

“Today’s ruling is a landmark victory against the abuse of power that has become the hallmark of the Bush administration,” said ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero. “Government spying on innocent Americans without any kind of warrant and without congressional approval runs counter to the very foundations of our democracy.”

He called the ruling “yet another nail in the coffin of the Bush administration’s strategy in the war on terror. . . . The judge very clearly points out that this, at its core, is about presidential powers.” — Washington Post

“This is just the initial round of what will likely be a long legal fight,” wrote Timothy Lynch, director of the Cato Institute’s Project on Criminal Justice.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has sued AT&T in a separate lawsuit in California alleging that it unlawfully cooperated with the NSA in implementing the terrorist surveillance program, which EFF alleges is larger than the government has admitted publicly.

In that case, the judge rejected the government’s motion to dismiss under the state secrets privilege, and a number of other lawsuits filed around the country were consolidated with that case in a decision last week.

(Hat tip)