Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: Unconstitutional Warrant Criteria Permit Wiretapping If a Possibility of International Terrorism Is Found

This Comment examines the warrant criteria established in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, as applied to persons who may be international terrorists. The Act permits electronic surveillance if a possibility of international terrorism is found. After briefly discussing the history of the Act, the author engages in a discussion of the modern threat of international terrorism and the executive department's ability to uproot that threat. The author argues that the concern for United States citizen's right to privacy must not belittle the right to privacy of those who are non-citizens, as the Fourth Amendment is applicable to those persons who are aliens.

The author further argues that any infringement on the privacy rights of resident aliens would lead to a further infringement of those rights with respect to United States' citizens. The author concludes that the Act's warrant criteria are unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment.