No Court Order Needed to Spy on Americans Overseas

The Fourth Amendment’s shield against invasive searches reaches only partially across the border, a federal appeals court ruled this week, finding that the nation’s spies don't need a court order to wiretap an American overseas, though there has to be a good reason for listening in.

The 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals ruling fills in a gap in surveillance law and could complicate cases challenging both the government’s warrantless wiretapping program and a newly passed surveillance law that gives the government wide latitude to snoop from inside the United States without getting court orders.