Anna Diggs Taylor

Anna Diggs Taylor (born Anna Katherine Johnston, 1932, Washington, D.C.) is a is a United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. She graduated from Barnard College in 1954 and Yale Law School in 1957, and worked in the Office of Solicitor for the United States Department of Labor. In 1979, she was appointed to the federal bench by President Jimmy Carter, becoming the first black woman judge appointed to that Eastern District of Michigan.

She became Chief Judge of the court in 1997, and took senior status in 1998. [ [http://www.micourthistory.org/resources/women-and-law/taylor.php Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society biography] ]

In 1960, she married U.S. Representative Charles Diggs; they divorced in 1971. She married S. Martin Taylor, a regent of the University of Michigan, in 1976.

Anonymous reviews published in the Almanac of the Federal Judiciary highlight a positive reputation among lawyers who have appeared before her, as well as positive comments about her legal ability. However, the quality and comprehensiveness of her 2006 "ACLU v. NSA" ruling has been criticized by some legal experts.cite news|title=Experts Fault Reasoning in Surveillance Decision|author=Adam Liptak|date=2006-08-19|publisher=The New York Times|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/19/washington/19ruling.html]

"ACLU v. NSA"

In 2006, Judge Taylor was the first U.S. judge to rule on the legal and constitutional issues of the NSA warrantless surveillance controversy. Her ruling, "ACLU v. NSA", held that the domestic wiretapping conducted by the National Security Agency without court approval violates the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and is unconstitutional. She granted a permanent injunction to halt it. The ruling, whose effect is stayed pending appellate proceedings, [cite web | url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/04/AR2006100401731.html | title= Court Allows Warrantless Wiretapping During Appeal | accessmonthday = October 6 | accessyear = 2006 | author = Associated Press | date = 2006-10-05 ] sparked a vigorous political and legal controversy. In the same decision, she declined to rule on the legality of the alleged NSA call database, on States Secrets grounds.

The watchdog organization Judicial Watch has alleged that Taylor may have had a conflict of interest in this case, because according to Judicial Watch she is or was secretary and trustee for the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan (CFSEM), a group that made a recent grant of $45,000 over two years to the ACLU of Michigan, the winning plaintiff in "ACLU v. NSA". [cite news|title=Judicial Watch press release|author=|date=2006-08-21|publisher=|url=http://www.judicialwatch.org/5862.shtml]

Taylor's ruling was subsequently overturned by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. The Circuit Court ruled 2-1 that the people bringing the suit did not have standing. The Court's decision vacated the portion of Taylor's ruling concerning warrantless wiretaps.

Footnotes

References

* [http://www.daahp.wayne.edu/biographiesDisplay.asp?id=64 Biography at Detroit African-American History Project]

External links

* [http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060823/NEWS05/608230436/1007/NEWS Judge in wiretap case under fire]
* [http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/lib_hist/Courts/district%20court/MI/EDMI/judges/adt-bio.html History of the Sixth Circuit] Biography