FISA COURT == "SLAM DUNK"

This table from the Electronic Privacy Information Center shows that the FISA Court almost never turned down a request. CNN reported on May 1, 2007 that in 2006,

Of the 2,181 applications submitted to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court last year, 2,176 were approved and five were withdrawn; one of those was resubmitted and one was partially accepted.

Year Number of FISA Applications Presented Number of FISA Applications Approved Number of FISA Applications Rejected 19791 199 207 0 19802 319 322 0 1981 431 433 0 1982 473 475 0 1983 549 549 0 1984 635 635 0 1985 587 587 0 1986 573 573 0 1987 512 512 0 1988 534 534 0 1989 546 546 0 1990 595 595 0 1991 593 593 0 1992 484 484 0

Year Number of FISA Applications Presented Number of FISA Applications Approved Number of FISA Applications Rejected 1993 509 509 0 1994 576 576 0 1995 697 697 0 1996 839 839 0 19973 749 748 0 1998 796 796 0 19994 886 880 0 20005 1005 1012 0 20016 932 934 0 20027 1228 1228 0 20038 1727 1724 4 20049 1758 1754 0 200510 2074 2072 0

Acknowledgment: The Federation of American Scientists compiled the list of FISA annual reports, from which these statistics were extracted.

1. The calendar year of 1980 was the first full year that FISA had been in effect. Hence, 1979 does not reflect a complete calendar year.

2. No orders were entered which modified or denied the requested authority, except one case in which the Court modified an order and authorized an activity for which court authority had not been requested.

3. In one case, although satisfied as to the probable cause to believe the target to be an agent of a foreign power, the court declined to approve the application as plead for other reasons, and gave the government leave to amend the application. The government has filed a motion to withdraw that case as it has become moot.

4. One application filed in 1999 was pending before the Court until March 29, 2000, when it was approved. Five applications which were filed in late December 1999 were approved when presented to the Court on January 5, 2000.

5. The Court approved 1003 of these applications in 2000. Two of the 1005 applications were filed with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in December 2000 and approved in January 2001. Nine applications were filed with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in calendar year 1999 and approved in calendar year 2000. Thus, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court approved 1012 applications in calendar year 2000. Also, one order was modified by the Court. No orders were entered which denied the requested authority.

6. Two of the 934 applications were filed with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in December 2000 and approved in January 2001. Also, two orders and two warrants were modified by the Court. No orders were entered which denied the requested authority.

7. The Court initially approved 1226 applications in 2002. Two applications were "approved as modified," and the United States appealed these applications to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review, as applications having been denied in part. On November 18, 2002, the Court of Review issued a judgment that "ordered and adjudged that the motions for review be granted, the challenged portions of the orders on review be reversed, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court's Rule 11 be vacated, and the cases be remanded with instructions to grant the United States' applications as submitted..."

8. The United States did not appeal any of the Court's four denials. However, the 2003 FISA report provides additional information about two of the four applications denied:

(1) In one case, the Court issued supplemental orders with respect to its denial, and the Government filed with the Court a motion for reconsideration of its rulings. The Court subsequently vacated its earlier orders and granted in part and denied in part the Government's motion for reconsideration. The Government has not appealed that ruling. In 2004, the Court approved a revised application regarding this target that incorporated modifications consistent with the Court's prior order with respect to the motion for reconsideration.

(2) In another case, the Court initially denied the application without prejudice. The Government presented amended orders to the Court later the same day, which the Court approved. Because the Court eventually approved this application, it is included in the 1724 referenced above.

In 2003, the Court made substantive modifications to the United States' proposed orders in 79 applications.

9. The United States withdrew three of its 1,758 applications before the Court ruled on them. The United States then resubmitted one of these applications, which was approved by the Court as a new application. One of the 1,758 applications made to the Court was approved in 2003 and received a docket number in 2004. In 2004, the Court made substantive modifications to the United States' proposed orders in 94 applications.

10. The United States withdrew two of its applications before the Court ruled on them. The United States then resubmitted one of these applications, which was approved by the Court as a new application. In 2005, the Court made substantive modifications to the United States' proposed orders in 61 applications.