Did you know that there’s a secret court in the United States that oversees government surveillance? It’s called the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), and it plays a crucial role in national security—though many people have never heard of it!
What Exactly Is the FISC?
The FISC was created in 1978 under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to review and approve government requests for surveillance related to foreign intelligence. This means that if agencies like the FBI or NSA want to spy on someone inside the U.S. for national security reasons, they have to get approval from this court first.
Unlike regular courts, FISC operates in secret—you won’t see its cases on TV or read about them in public court records. Why? Because its decisions often involve classified information and national security concerns.
Who Are the Judges?
The FISC isn’t made up of just any judges. There are 11 federal judges, all handpicked by the Chief Justice of the United States (currently John Roberts). They serve for seven years, and they come from different parts of the country to ensure a broad legal perspective.
Since the court handles urgent cases, at least three of its judges live near Washington, D.C., so they can quickly review time-sensitive surveillance requests.
What Kind of Surveillance Does FISC Approve?
If the U.S. government wants to track suspected foreign spies, terrorists, or cybercriminals, they need FISC’s approval for things like:
Electronic Surveillance & Wiretaps – Monitoring phone calls, emails, or internet activity.
Physical Searches – Searching homes, offices, or electronic devices of foreign intelligence targets.
Business Records Requests – Accessing financial transactions, hotel logs, or other records that might reveal a threat.
Data Collection Under Section 702 – Targeting non-U.S. persons outside the country to gather foreign intelligence.
A Court Like No Other
Here’s something unusual: FISC hearings are one-sided. Only the government presents its case—there’s no opposing lawyer challenging the request. This is called an ex parte process, and it exists to protect classified information.
However, in recent years, FISC has brought in independent legal experts (called amici curiae) to provide outside perspectives on complex cases.
How Do We Know What FISC Decides?
For a long time, we didn’t! FISC’s rulings were highly classified, but after public concern about surveillance programs, Congress passed the USA Freedom Act in 2015. Now, significant FISC decisions must be declassified and released when possible. Still, though, there are plenty of decisions that we never learn about.
Final Thought: Why Does FISC Matter?
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court is one of the most powerful yet secretive courts in the U.S. It aims to balance national security with individual rights—though some critics argue it approves too many surveillance requests with little pushback.
So next time you hear about government surveillance, remember: behind the scenes, there’s a special court making the calls on what’s legal and what’s not.
