Special Collection: Criminal cases challenging FISA surveillance

Section 702 of FISA permits foreign intelligence surveillance targeting the communications of non-U.S. persons located abroad. This collection contains criminal cases in which the government notified the court that FISA surveillance was relevant to the case, and the defendant then challenged the lawfulness of that surveillance or the evidence obtained.

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NATIONAL SECURITY
United States v. Daher

2:18-cr-20559 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

Filed Date: Aug. 14, 2018

Closed Date: Jan. 18, 2022

This is a federal criminal case where the government attempted to introduce evidence obtained through the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). On August 14, 2018, two operators of a Detroit …

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NATIONAL SECURITY
United States v. Aws Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab

1:16-cr-00181 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Filed Date: March 17, 2016

Closed Date: Oct. 31, 2019

This is the eighth time the Justice Department has notified a criminal defendant that evidence being used against him came from a FISA warrantless wiretap, a move that is expected at some point to se…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
United States v. Mohammad

3:15-cr-00358 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio

Filed Date: Sept. 30, 2015

Closed Date: Jan. 22, 2019

On September 30, 2015, Yahya Farooq Mohammad, Ibrahim Zubair Mohammad, Asif Ahmed Salim, and Sultane Roome Salim were indicted in U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Ohio for conspiracy t…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
United States v. Gartenlaub

8:14-cr-00173 | U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

Filed Date: Aug. 27, 2014

Case Ongoing

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) requires the government to obtain a warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) before it may conduct any domestic electronic surv…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
United States v. Qazi

0:12-cr-60298 | U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

Filed Date: Nov. 30, 2012

Case Ongoing

Two brothers, both naturalized U.S. citizens from Pakistan, were arrested while plotting to conduct a terrorist attack using a weapon of mass destruction in New York City in November 2012. They were …

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NATIONAL SECURITY
United States v. Muhtorov

1:12-cr-00033 | U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado

Filed Date: Jan. 19, 2012

Closed Date: Oct. 3, 2022

Introduction & Importance of this Case In early 2012, the federal government initiated criminal prosecution of Jamshid Muhtorov (January 19) and Bakhityor Jumaev (March 14) in the U.S. District Court…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
United States v. Hasbajrami

1:11-cr-00623 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York

Filed Date: Sept. 6, 2011

Case Ongoing

This case is the third time the government notified a criminal defendant that the evidence used against him was from a FISA warrantless wiretap. All the cases regarding criminal challenges to warrant…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
United States v. Mohamud

3:10-cr-00475 | U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon

Filed Date: Nov. 29, 2010

Case Ongoing

On November 19, 2013, the Department of Justice notified Mohamed Osman Mohamud, the criminal defendant in this case, that it had used evidence from a FISA warrantless wiretap in the proceedings leadi…

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