Article: A Rule of Lenity for National Security Surveillance Law – Kerr

Orin Kerr has a new article in an upcoming volume of Virginia Law Review: “A Rule of Lenity for National Security Surveillance Law.”

Abstract:      

This essay argues that Congress should adopt a rule of lenity for the interpretation of national security surveillance statutes. Under the rule of lenity, ambiguity in the powers granted to the Executive Branch in the sections of the United States Code on national security surveillance should be trigger a narrow judicial interpretation in favor of the individual and against the state. A rule of lenity would push Congress to be the primary decisionmaker to balance privacy and security when technology changes, limiting the rule-making power of the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. A rule of lenity would help restore the power over national security surveillance law to where it belongs: The People.