In an age of terrorism, where should a democratic society draw the line on government surveillance? Edward Snowden’s explosive disclosures about the National Security Agency’s intelligence collection operations have ignited an intense debate about the appropriate balance between security and liberty in America. In a special series this academic year, nationally prominent experts will explore the critical issues raised by the NSA’s activities, including their impact on our security, privacy, and civil liberties. This timely series will address some of the most challenging questions the nation faces today.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (also known as the FISA Court) is one of the least understood courts in America. The court was created by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, which empowered it to oversee requests by the government for surveillance of foreign intelligence agents. It was created by Congress in response to recommendations by the Senate’s Church Committee, which suggested that greater oversight of the intelligence services was needed. The court holds closed hearings, and releases only limited information about its decisions to the public. During its existence, the court has granted more than 30,000 warrants and denied just 11 warrants.

In this session, the former presiding judge of the FISA court, Judge Reggie Barnett Walton, will explain the court’s work and the legal framework in which it operates. In conversation with Stanford Law School Professor Jenny Martinez, Judge Walton will shed light on the role that this important institution plays in helping keep the balance between liberty and security in alignment.

Judge Reggie Barnett Walton
Federal Judge, United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Reggie Barnett Walton is the former presiding judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, and was an associate judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia from 1981 to 1989 and from 1991 to 2001. Judge Walton has also served as associate director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. In 2001, Judge Walton was nominated to the federal bench by President George W. Bush. In 2007, Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts Jr. appointed him to a seat on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, on which he served until May 2014.

Jenny S. Martinez
Warren Christopher Professor in the Practice of International Law and Diplomacy and Associate Dean for Curriculum, Stanford Law School
Jenny S. Martinez is a leading expert on international courts and tribunals, international human rights, national security, constitutional law, and the laws of war. Her research focuses on the role of courts and tribunals in advancing and protecting human rights. An experienced litigator, she has worked on numerous cases in the US Supreme Court and the courts of appeals involving international law and constitutional law issues, including cases involving the Alien Tort Statute, the Torture Victim Protection Act, and the detention and trial of post-9/11 detainees.

The Security Conundrum will look behind and beyond the headlines, examining the history and implementation of the NSA’s operations, the legal questions generated by them, the media’s role in revealing them, and the responsibility of Congress to oversee them. Each session in the series is designed to explore these issues from a different vantage point. The guest speakers, in conversation with Stanford scholars, will probe the problems, explain the political, legal, and technological contours of the NSA actions, and outline the ways to preserve the nation’s security without sacrificing our freedoms.

Mark Udall was the senior US Senator from the state of Colorado from 2009–2015. During his tenure in the US Senate, Senator Udall held various national security committee assignments, both with the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. An active member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Udall gained notoriety for his vocal opposition to NSA surveillance programs in the wake of the Edward Snowden disclosures in June of 2013. However, as early as 2011, Senator Udall called on the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to declassify material related to US government surveillance. Following the Snowden revelations, Senator Udall advocated for adopting the recommendations from the President’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies, as well as substantively reforming the NSA. 

In a conversation with Amy Zegart, Davies Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and co-director of Stanford’s International Security and Cooperation, Senator Udall will provide a lawmaker’s perspective on the oversight of controversial NSA programs. He will discuss the divide between security and civil liberties, as well as his thoughts on reform of US intelligence collection activities.