Judge denies WSJ request for records

A Texas judge has denied The Wall Street Journal’s request to see secret government requests for electronic surveillance in criminal cases.

Jennifer Valentino-DeVries of The Journal writes, “The applications the Journal seeks to unseal include at least one that relates to the use of ‘stingrays,‘ phone trackers that act as fake cell towers, according to Brian Owsley, the former federal magistrate judge who originally handled the applications. Others involve requests to get a ‘cell tower dump,‘ a technique in which investigators can gather data on all the phones connecting to a tower, according to Mr. Owsley.

“In Mr. Owsley’s published opinions, he raised concerns that the secret applications had legal ‘shortcomings.’ One application, he said, didn’t ‘explain the technology, or the process by which the technology will be used,’ and instead called the location-tracking tech a pen register, a tool that records phone numbers dialed and received, an incomplete description.

“Attorneys who have fought the federal government over access to other legal materials said the Justice Department has long taken a broad view of which cases are ongoing, in an effort to protect information.”

Read more here.