[Infowarrior] - FISA court names Thomas Hogan as new presiding judge

[Richard Forno]

Fisa court names Thomas Hogan as new presiding judge

Secretive US court considers applications for electronic surveillance and physical searches of non-US targets

	• Reuters in Washington
	• theguardian.com, Wednesday 26 March 2014 09.41 EDT

http://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/mar/26/fisa-court-thomas-hogan-presiding-judge

The secretive US court that considers applications for electronic surveillance and physical searches of non-US targets will have a new presiding judge in May, the court has said.

Judge Thomas Hogan, who has been a federal judge in Washington DC since 1982, will begin work as the presiding judge of the foreign intelligence surveillance (Fisa) court on 19 May, the court said in a statement.

US chief justice John Roberts, who has exclusive authority over the makeup of the 11-judge spy court, made the appointment.

Although the court meets in secret to hear applications from prosecutors, it is increasingly in the public eye. Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden revealed last year that the court approved the collection of a massive amount of US telephone data, much of it related to Americans.

Hogan will succeed presiding judge Reggie Walton, who like Hogan was appointed to the federal bench by Republican president Ronald Reagan.

Hogan's term as presiding judge will extend through May 2016, the court said.

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