Topicality
The Resolution
Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially curtail its
domestic surveillance.
Resolved
Policy Enactment
‘Resolved’ denotes a proposal to be enacted by law
Words and Phrases 64 Permanent Edition
Definition of the word “resolve,” given by Webster is “to express an opinion or determination by
resolution or vote; as ‘it was resolved by the legislature;” It is of similar force to the word “enact,” which
is defined by Bouvier as meaning “to establish by law”.
Specific Action
Specific course of action
AHD 6 (American Heritage Dictionary, http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/resolved)
INTRANSITIVE VERB:1. To reach a decision or make
reduced to constituents. 3. Music To undergo resolution.
a determination: resolve on a course of action . 2. To become separated or
USFG
Three Branches
The United States Federal Government is the three branches of the Government
US Legal Definitions, "United States Federal Government Law & Legal Definition," No Publication,
http://definitions.uslegal.com/u/united-states-federal-government/
The United States Federal Government is established by the US Constitution. The Federal Government
shares sovereignty over the United Sates with the individual governments of the States of US. The
Federal government has three branches i) the legislature, which is the US Congress, ii) Executive,
comprised of the President and Vice president of the US and iii) Judiciary. The US Constitution prescribes
a system of separation of powers and ‘checks and balances’ for the smooth functioning of all the three
branches of the Federal Government. The US Constitution limits the powers of the Federal Government
to the powers assigned to it; all powers not expressly assigned to the Federal Government are reserved
to the States or to the people.
Central Government
Federal government is central government
WEBSTER'S 76 NEW INTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY UNABRIDGED, p. 833.
Federal government. Of or relating to the central government of a nation, having the character of a
federation as distinguished from the governments of the constituent unites (as states or provinces).
Federal government is the national government that expresses power
Black’s Law Dictionary, 8th Edition, June 1, 2004, pg.716.
Federal government. 1. A national government that exercises some degree of control over smaller
political units that have surrendered some degree of power in exchange for the right to participate in
national politics matters – Also termed (in federal states) central government. 2. the U.S. government –
Also termed national government. [Cases: United States -1 C.J.S. United States - - 2-3]
Federal refers to the national government. It’s distinct from state law.
Dictionary of Government and Politics ’98 (Ed. P.H. Collin, p. 116)
federal [‘federal] adjective (a) referring to a system of government in which a group of states are linked
together in a federation; a federal constitution = constitution (such as that in Germany) which provides
for a series of semi-autonomous states joined together in a national federation (b) referring especially to
the federal government of the United States; federal court or federal laws = court or laws of the USA, as
opposed to state courts or state laws.
USFG is the federal government of the USA, based in DC
Dictionary of Government and Politics ’98 (Ed. P.H. Collin, p. 292)
United States of America (USA) [ju:’naitid ‘steits av e’merike] noun independent country, a federation of
states (originally thirteen, now fifty in North America; the United States Code = book containing all the
permanent laws of the USA, arranged in sections according to subject and revised from time to time
COMMENT: the federal government (based in Washington D.C.) is formed of a legislature (the Congress)
with two chambers (the Senate and House of Representatives), an executive (the President) and a
judiciary (the Supreme Court). Each of the fifty states making up the USA has its own legislature and
executive (the Governor) as well as its own legal system and constitution
Should
Obligation
Should is obligatory
Collins dictionary NO Date (Collins dictionary is a well-respected dictionary;
http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/should; Accessed: 7/8/15)
the past tense of shall: used as an auxiliary verb to indicate that an action is considered by the speaker
to be obligatory ( you should go) or to form the subjunctive mood with I or we ( I should like to see you;
if I should be late, go without me)
Should expresses the necessity of an action
Cambridge Dictionaries NO Date (Cambridge Dictionaries is a popular and respected dictionary;
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/american-english/should Accessed: 7/8/15)
Used to express that it is necessary, desirable, or important to perform the action of the following verb:
He should have told me about the change in plans. People like that should go to jail. Where should we
meet tonight?
Should denotes a recommendation
The Lexicon in 2013 (The Lexicon is an oil and gas drilling glossary for different terms; Accessed: 7/8/15
Source of Definition: API RP 17L2, Recommended Practice for Flexible Pipe Ancillary Equipment, First Edition,
March 2013. Global Standards http://www.iadclexicon.org/should/)
As used in a standard, “should” denotes a recommendation or that which is advised but not required in
order to conform to the specification.
Policy
Should means an expected course of action or policy
Acquisition.gov in 2015 (Acquistion.gov is a website dedicated to archives of legal definitions the United
States follows for business; FAC Number/Effective Date: FAR 2005-83/07-02-2015 Accessed: 7/8/15;
https://www.acquisition.gov/?q=browse/far/2/1&searchTerms=definition%20of%20should
“Should” means an expected course of action or policy that is to be followed unless inappropriate for a
particular circumstance.
Substantially
Main/Most Important
Substantial means the main or most important
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary, 2004
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=79480&dict=CALD
Substantial (GENERAL) [Show phonetics] adjective [before noun] FORMAL relating to the main or most
important things being considered: The committee were in substantial agreement (= agreed about most
of the things discussed).
Substantial means important
Meriam Webster, No datehttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/substantial
a : consisting of or relating to substance b : not imaginary or illusory : real, true c : important, essential 2
: ample to satisfy and nourish : full <a substantial meal> 3 a : possessed of means : well-to-do b :
considerable in quantity : significantly great <earned a substantial wage> 4 : firmly constructed : sturdy
<a substantial house> 5 : being largely but not wholly that which is specified <
Large Degree
Substantially- To a large degree
Cambridge Dictionary No date (Cambridge Dictionary, “Definition of "substantially" - American
English Dictionary”, No date, http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/americanenglish/substantially, 7/8/15)
adverb US /səbˈstæn·ʃə·li/ › to a large degree: Serious crime is down substantially.
10%
Less than 10% is insubstantial
Mickels 8 (Alissa, JD Candidate – Hastings College of Law, “Summary of Existing US Law Affecting
Fourth Sector Organizations”, 7-17,
http://www.fourthsector.net/attachments/7/original/Summary_of_US_Law_Affecting_
FS.pdf?1229493187)
Substantial v. insubstantial: Modern courts consider competition with commercial firms as “strong evidence of a substantial
nonexempt purpose.” Living Faith, Inc. v. Comm’r, 60 T.C.M. 710, 713 (1990). Although the tax court has held that the definition of
insubstantial is fact specific, it has found that less than ten percent of a charity’s total efforts is
“insubstantial”, World Family Corp. v. Comm’r, 78 T.C. 921 (1982), where as unrelated business activity generating one-third of an
organizations revenue does not qualify for tax-exempt status. Orange County Agric. Soc’y, Inc. v. Comm’r, 55 T.C.M. 1602, 1604 (1988), aff’d
893 F.2d 647 (2d Cir. 1990). However, this may be changing after an increasing emphasis on commensurate test.
40%
“Substantially” means 40% --- strict quantification avoids vagueness
Schwartz 4 (Arthur, Lawyer – Schwartz + Goldberg, 2002 U.S. Briefs 1609, Lexis)
In the opinion below, the Tenth Circuit suggested that a percentage figure would be a way to avoid
vagueness issues. (Pet. App., at 13-14) Indeed, one of the Amici supporting the City in this case, the
American Planning Association, produced a publication that actually makes a recommendation of a
percentage figure that should be adopted by municipalities in establishing zoning [*37] regulations for
adult businesses. n8 The APA's well researched report recommended that the terms "substantial" and
"significant" be quantified at 40 percent for floor space or inventory of a business in the definition of
adult business. n9 (Resp. Br. App., at 15-16)
Without Material Qualification
Substantially is without material qualification
Black’s Law 91 (Dictionary, p. 1024)
Substantially - means essentially; without material qualification.
Curtail
Reduce
Curtail means to reduce or cut short
The Free dictionary. No Date "Curtail." The Free Dictionary. Farlex, n.d. Web. 8 July 2015
To cut short or reduce: We curtailed our conversation when other people entered the room.
Curtail means to reduce or limit
Macmillan Dictionary No Date “Curtail” Macmillan Dictionary n.d 8 July 2015
to reduce or limit something, especially something good
To curtail is to limit or keep in check
Your Dictionary, No Date “Curtail” Your dictionary n.d 8 July 2015
To limit or restrict, keep in check.
Reduce quality or quantity
Curtial means to reduce in extent or restrict
Oxford Dictionary No Date “Curtail” Oxford Dictionary n.d 8 July 2015
Reduce in extent or quantity; impose a restriction on:
Restrict or Eliminate
Curtail means to restrict or stop
Your Dictionary, No Date “Curtail” Your dictionary n.d 8 July 2015
To curtail is defined as to restrict something, stop something or deprive of something.
Quantity- Must Reduce Scope
Limiting precludes qualitative modifications – the plan violates by maintaining the
existing scope of surveillance
State v. Knutsen, 3 - 71 P. 3d 1065 - Idaho: Court of Appeals, http://caselaw.findlaw.com/id-court-ofappeals/1320950.html
By its plain language, Rule 35 grants a district court the authority within a limited period of time to
reduce or modify a defendant's sentence after relinquishing jurisdiction. To "reduce" means to
diminish in size, amount, extent or number, or to make smaller, lessen or shrink. WEBSTER'S THIRD
NEW INTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY 1905 (1993). To "modify" means to make more temperate and
less extreme, or to lessen the severity of something. Id. at 1452. Thus, under the plain meaning of
its language, Rule 35 authorizes a district court to diminish, lessen the severity of, or make more
temperate a defendant's sentence. An order placing a defendant on probation lessens the severity
of a defendant's sentence and thus falls within the district court's authority granted by Rule 35.
Other state jurisdictions have held likewise in interpreting similar rules for reduction of sentence.
See State v. Knapp, 739 P.2d 1229, 1231-32 (Wy.1987) (similar rule of criminal procedure
authorizes reduction of a sentence of incarceration to probation); People v. Santana, 961 P.2d 498,
499 (Co.Ct.App.1997) (grant of probation is a "reduction" under Colorado Cr. R. 35(b)).
Can’t Restrict Future Increase
It must be a net reduction measured against the status quo baseline – the plan
violates by merely preventing a future increase
Howell, 14 - US District Court Judge (Beryl, HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES, et al., Plaintiffs, v.
SALLY JEWELL, Secretary of the Interior, et al.,1 Defendants, v. STATE OF WISCONSIN, et al. IntervenorDefendants. 1 Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25(d), Sally Jewell, Secretary of the Interior, is
automatically substituted for her predecessor in office. Civil Action No. 13-186 (BAH) UNITED STATES
DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 175846 December 19, 2014,
Decided December 19, 2014, Filed
Moreover, by defining "significant portion of a species' range" in the final rule as referring only to a
species' "current range," the FWS explicitly contradicts the conclusions by courts finding that "range"
must include the "historical range" and the ESA's legislative history. LEG. HIST. at 742 (H. Rep. 95-1625,
from Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, regarding ESAA) ("The term 'range' [in the ESA] is
used in the general sense, and refers to the historical range of the species."); Defenders of Wildlife, 258
F.3d at 1145. It also renders meaningless the word "curtailment" in 16 U.S.C. § 1533(a)(1)(A), since it is
impossible [*162] to determine the "present . . . curtailment of [a species'] habitat or range" without
knowing what the species' historical range was prior to being curtailed.
Can’t Abolish
Curtail means a partial restriction – the aff is a cancelation of a program, not
curtailment
San Fellipo, 92 (John, “OREGON'S TELEPHONE INFORMATION DELIVERY SERVICE LAW: A CONSUMER
PROTECTION STEP TOO FAR” 28 Willamette L. Rev. 455 1991-1992, Hein Online)
131. The author understands "limit" as used in OR. ADMIN. R. 860-21-505(8) (1991) to mean cancel, as
opposed to the word "curtail" used in section (7), meaning only a partial restriction.
Its
Possessive
‘Its’ is a possessive pronoun showing ownership
Merriam-Webster, no date Accessed Online: 7/08/15 http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/its
Its: of or relating to it or itself especially as possessor, agent, or object of an action <going to its kennel>
<a child proud of its first drawings> <its final enactment into law
Its implies ownership
BlueBook of Grammar, No Date, Accessed Online: 7/08/15
http://www.grammarbook.com/grammar/pronoun.asp.
Possessive pronouns show ownership and never need apostrophes. Possessive pronouns: mine, yours,
his, hers, its, ours, theirs
Its implies ownership
Dictionary, No Date, Accessed Online: 7/08/15 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/its
the possessive form of it.(used as an attributive adjective): The book has lost its jacket.
Its means belonging to
Oxford Dictionary 14, Accessed Online: 7/08/15,
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/its,
its Top 1000 frequently used words Syllabification: its Pronunciation: /its / DETERMINER 1Belonging to
or associated with a thing previously mentioned or easily identified: turn the camera on its side he chose
the area for its atmosphere
Domestic Surveillance
US Citizens
Domestic surveillance refers to the obtainment of US citizens records that is nonpublic
IT Law Wikia No Date (IT Law Wikia, Encyclopedia of Legal Issues, “Domestic surveillance”,
http://itlaw.wikia.com/wiki/Domestic_surveillance)
Domestic surveillance is the acquisition of nonpublic information concerning United States persons.
Domestic
In United States
Domestic means of or relating to one’s own or a particular country as apart from other
countries; does not pertain to foreign
Dictionary.com in 2015
(Domestic." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 08 Jul. 2015. <Dictionary.com, 7/8/15,
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/domestic>.)
Domestic [duh-mes-tik] Examples Word Origin adjective 1. Of or relating to the home, the household, household
affairs, or the family: domestic pleasures. 2. Devoted to home life or household affairs. 3. No longer wild;
tame; domesticated: domestic animals. 4. Of or relating to one's own or a particular country as apart
from other countries: domestic trade. 5. indigenous to or produced or made within one's own country; not
foreign; native: domestic goods.
Domestic means of, relating to, or originating within a country and especially one’s
own country
Merriam-Webster no date
(Merriam-Webster, “domestic”, merriam-webster.com, no date, website, 7/8/15, http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/domestic)
Definition of DOMESTIC 1 a: living near or about human habitations b: tame, domesticated <the domestic
cat> 2: of, relating to, or originating within a country and especially one's own country <domestic politics>
<domestic wines> 3: of or relating to the household or the family <domestic chores> <domestic happiness> 4: devoted
to home duties and pleasures <leading a quietly domestic life> 5: indigenous
Full
Domestic is defined as of or inside a particular country; not foreign or international
Oxford Dictionaries no date
(Oxford Dictionaries, “domestic”, oxforddictionaries.com, no date, website, 7/8/15,
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/learner/domestic)
Domestic adjective BrE /dəˈmestɪk/; Name /dəˈmestɪk/ [usually before noun] of or inside a particular country; not
foreign or international domestic affairs/politics domestic flights (= to and from places within a country) Output consists of both
exports and sales on the domestic market. Opposite foreign [only before noun] used in the home; connected with the home
or family domestic appliances domestic chores the growing problem of domestic violence (= violence between members of the same family)
domestic service (= the work of a servant in a large house) liking home life; enjoying or good at cooking, cleaning the
house, etc. I'm not a very domestic sort of person. (Of animals) kept on farms or as pets; not wild
Can’t be “The Cloud”
The cloud is outside of US borders
Donohue, 15 - Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center (Laura, “SECTION 702 AND THE
COLLECTION OF INTERNATIONAL TELEPHONE AND INTERNET CONTENT” 38 Harv. J.L. & Pub. Pol'y 117,
Winter, lexis)
These other types of programs can potentially yield significant amounts of information. The NSA appears
to be collecting email address books for most major webmail companies, and storing the information in
multiple databases. n136 According to the Washington Post, the yield is "hundreds of millions of contact
lists from personal e-mail and instant messaging accounts around the world." n137 On any
representative day, in turn, the NSA appears to collect approximately half a million buddy lists and
inboxes (which frequently include the first part of the messages that have been sent). n138
Another example of collection under Executive Order 12,333 is the interception of content flowing
between data centers overseas. In October 2013, the Washington Post reported that the NSA was
collecting hundreds of millions of records, ranging from metadata to content, transiting fiber optics
cables between Google and Yahoo data centers. n139 The principal tool used to analyze the infor [*153]
mation, MUSCULAR, appears to be operated jointly with the U.K.'s Government Communications
Headquarters (GCHQ). n140 The collection of information held on the cloud, outside U.S. borders, shifts
the program outside the FISA framework. n141
Distinct From Foreign Intelligence
foreign intelligence gathering is a distinct category of federal policy
Fisher, 4 - Associate Professor of Law and Director, Center for Social Justice, Seton Hall Law School
(Linda, “GUILT BY EXPRESSIVE ASSOCIATION: POLITICAL PROFILING, SURVEILLANCE AND THE PRIVACY
OF GROUPS” ARIZONA LAW REVIEW [Vol. 46:621)
There is ample precedent for adopting a reasonable suspicion of criminality standard for political
surveillance. This standard remains as a requirement for police departments accepting federal aid.237
Its substantial equivalent was successfully employed in the FBI’s domestic surveillance guidelines for
over twenty-five years.238 It was also incorporated into the Chicago Red Squad consent decree.239 The
Church Committee endorsed the reasonable suspicion standard as a predicate for terrorism
investigations in 1976.240 Notably, it was recently adopted in the Denver police spying consent
decree.241 And it was enacted in a Seattle ordinance.242 Other political surveillance litigation was not
as successful.243 However, the Dale Court’s affirmation of a robust right of association strengthens and
reinforces those First Amendment arguments previously available.
(footnote 238)
238. See ATTORNEY GENERAL GUIDELINES, supra note 13; Lininger, supra note 13. These guidelines
apply to domestic surveillance only; that is, surveillance of conduct that involves potential criminal
activity, rather than foreign intelligence. The guidelines governing foreign intelligence are classified.
Portions of prior foreign intelligence surveillance guidelines from 1995 have been released, but nothing
since that time has been made available to the public. The 1995 guidelines give investigators much
greater leeway to collect intelligence than do the domestic surveillance guidelines. See ATTORNEY
GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR FBI FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE COLLECTION AND FOREIGN
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE INVESTIGATIONS (1995), available at http://www.politrix.org/foia /fbi/fbiguide.htm.
The FISC is exclusively about foreign surveillance, not domestic
Berman, 14 - Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School (Emily Berman, Regulating
Domestic Intelligence Collection, 71 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 3,
http://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/wlulr/vol71/iss1/5
Another barrier to enlisting the FISC in intelligencecollection governance is that the intelligencecollection activities governed by the Guidelines extend beyond the scope of the FISC’s jurisdiction. The
FISC oversees electronic foreign intelligence surveillance and physical searches of premises connected
with foreign powers.322 It has no role in overseeing purely domestic surveillance of Americans absent
probable cause that those Americans are agents of a foreign power.323 The content of the Guidelines
and the activities they regulate—such as physical surveillance of Americans, infiltration of religious or
political groups, the use of informants, requests for internet history— rarely fall within the FISC’s
jurisdiction. Individuals who wish to challenge FBI activity—if they can establish standing—do not have
access to the FISC.324 Thus, it is unclear what role the FISC could play in reviewing many activities in
which the FBI engages.
Surveillance
Watch Over
Surveillance is a watch over a person, place, group or activity or as to oversee and
direct someone or something
Dictionary.com No Date
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/surveillance accessed 7/8/15
surveillance [ser-vey-luh ns, -veyl-yuh ns] Spell Syllables Examples Word Origin noun 1. a watch kept over a person, group,
etc., especially over a suspect, prisoner, or the like: The suspects were under police surveillance.
2. continuous observation of a place, person, group, or ongoing
video cameras used for covert surveillance. See also electronic surveillance.
3. attentive observation, as
chronic liver disease.
activity in order to gather information:
to oversee and direct someone or something: increased surveillance of patients with
Crime Prevention
Surveillance is monitoring with preventive intent
Lemos, 10 - Associate Professor at Faculty of Communication at Federal University of Bahia, Brazil
(Andre, ““Locative Media and Surveillance at the Boundaries of Informational Territories”,
http://www.irma-international.org/viewtitle/48348/
Although they often appear to be synonymous, it
is important to distinguish between informational control,
monitoring and surveillance so that the problem can be better understood. We consider control to be
the supervision of activities, or actions normally associated with government and authority over people, actions and processes.
Monitoring can be considered a form of observation to gather information with a view to making projections or
constructing scenarios and historical records, i.e., the action of following up and evaluating data. Surveillance, however, can be
defined as an act intended to avoid something, as an observation whose purposes are preventive or as
behavior that is attentive, cautious or careful. It is interesting to note that in English and French the two words “vigilant” and “surveillance”,
each of which is spelt the same way and has the same meaning in both languages, are applied to someone who is particularly watchful and to
acts associated with legal action or action by the police intended to provide protection against crime, respectively. We
shall define
surveillance as actions that imply control and monitoring in accordance with Gow, for whom surveillance "implies
something quite specific as the intentional observation of someone's actions or the intentional gathering of personal information in order to
observe actions taken in the past or future" (Gow. 2005. p. 8).
According to this definition, surveillance
actions presuppose monitoring and control, but not all forms of control
and/or monitoring can be called surveillance. It could be said that all forms of surveillance require two
elements: intent with a view to avoiding/causing something and identification of individuals or groups
by name. It seems to me to be difficult to say that there is surveillance if there is no identification of the person
under observation (anonymous) and no preventive intent (avoiding something). To my mind it is an exaggeration to say, for
example, that the system run by my cell phone operator that controls and monitors my calls is keeping me
under surveillance. Here there is identification but no intent. However, it can certainly be used for that
purpose. The Federal Police can request wiretaps and disclosure of telephone records to monitor my telephone
calls. The same can be said about the control and monitoring of users by public transport operators. This is part of the
administrative routine of the companies involved. Once again, however, the system can be used for surveillance
activities (a suspect can be kept under surveillance by the companies' and/or police safety systems). Note the example further below of the
recently implemented "Navigo "card in France. It seems to me that the social networks, collaborative maps, mobile devices, wireless networks
and countless different databases that make up the information society do indeed control and monitor and offer a real possibility of
surveillance.
Surveillance is watching someone or something to prevent or detect crime
Marriam Webster No date
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surveillance accessed 7/8/15
surveillance noun sur·veil·lance \sər-ˈvā-lən(t)s also -ˈvāl-yən(t)s or -ˈvā-ən(t)s\ : the act of carefully watching someone or
something especially in order to prevent or detect a crime
Surveillance is the process of carefully watching a person or place, in the context of
crime
Macmillan Dictionary No Date
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/surveillance accessed 7/8/15
surveillance - definition and synonyms NOUN [UNCOUNTABLE] surveillance pronunciation in American English /sərˈveɪləns/ the
process of carefully watching a person or place that may be involved in a criminal activity
Surveillance is the careful watching of a place or person because of a crime or
expected crime
Cambridge Dictionary No Date
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/surveillance accessed 7/8/15
Surveillance noun [U] UK /səˈveɪ.ləns/ US /sɚ-/ the careful watching of a person or place, especially by the
police or army, because of a crime that has happened or is expected:
Surveillance is the act of carefully watching person suspected of a crime or a place
where it may be committed
Oxford Learners Dictionary No date
http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/surveillance accessed 7/8/15
surveillance noun BrE /sɜːˈveɪləns/ ; NAmE /sɜːrˈveɪləns/ [uncountable] the
crime or a place where a crime may be committed
act of carefully watching a person suspected of a
Observe Suspects
Surveillance is close observation
Oxford Dictionary No date
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/surveillance accessed 7/8/15
Definition of surveillance in English: noun
Close observation, especially of a suspected spy or criminal:
Surveillance requires information gathering from a distance – even if physical
surveillance is part of it, that just means observation not searches
Shahabuddin, 15 - JD, Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law (Madiha, ““The More Muslim
You Are, the More Trouble You Can Be”:1 How Government Surveillance of Muslim Americans2 Violates
First Amendment Rights” Chapman Law Review [Vol. 18:2)
Professor Christopher Slobogin
defines surveillance as “government efforts to gather information about
people from a distance, usually covertly and without entry into private spaces.”21 Surveillance as a general phenomenon is then
broken down into three categories: 1) communications surveillance, which is “the real-time interception of communications”; 2)
physical surveillance, which is “the real-time observation of physical activities”; and 3) transaction
surveillance, which is the “accessing [of] recorded information about communications, activities, and other transactions.”22 According to
Slobogin, since 9/11, “the United States government has been obsessed, as perhaps it should be, with ferreting out national security threats,”
but “more than occasionally it has also visited significant intrusion on large numbers of law-abiding citizens—sometimes inadvertently,
sometimes not.”23 Within the context of national security, intelligence gathering24 of pattern occurrences in neighborhoods and communities
is intended to “analyze broad or meaningful trends” as a means of assessing the validity and likelihood of a national security threat.25
Such intelligence gathering, however, armed with a prejudicial purpose can result in “selective
surveillance” that imposes burdens on Muslim Americans’ First Amendment rights, further alienating
this particular community from the government.26 The surveillance of Muslim Americans operates
along a similar, yet covert, vein of the “Broken Windows”27 theory of policing. Developed by James Q.
Wilson and George L. Kelling, this theory posits that when a community riddled with violence and crime
becomes less tolerant of the minor causes of social disorder, a decrease in violent crime will result.28
Implementation of the Broken Windows theory has resulted in aggressive “zero tolerance policing” in
New York City, with its stated goal being to increase misdemeanor arrests on the streets in an effort to
reduce other, more violent crime.29 While there has been much social science research conducted to
test the Broken Windows theory, “there is no reliable empirical support for the proposition that disorder
causes crime or that broken-windows policing reduces serious crime.”30
Data Collection
Surveillance is observation and collection of date to provide evidence
Blacks Law dictionary no date
http://thelawdictionary.org/surveillance/ (Featuring Black's Law Dictionary Free Online Legal Dictionary
2nd Ed.) accessed 7/8/15
What is SURVEILLANCE? Observation and collection of data to provide evidence for a purpose.
For Compliance
Surveillance is the technologies of visibility and exposure that limit privacy to
determine compliance and to influence individuals
Kemple and Huey 5
Thomas Kemple and Laura Huey. Kemle is a Professor of Social and cultural theory; history of the social sciences; sociological founders, classics,
and canons; interpretive methods; aesthetic and visual sociology at the University of British Columbia. Huey is an associate professor of
Sociology, University of Western Ontario. “Observing the Observers: Researching Surveillance and Counter-Surveillance on ‘Skid Row’.” 2005
Surveillance & Society 3(2/3): 141-142 ‘Doing Surveillance Studies’ accessed 7/8/15 at http://www.surveillance-andsociety.org/Articles3(2)/observing.pdf
As surveillance is a broad concept used to describe a wide range of phenomena - from the use of infrared technology in military helicopters to
the ways in which individuals routinely spy on their neighbors - we must also clarify our use of this term. Following Gary Marx (2003: 370), we
define surveillance as those technologies of visibility and techniques of exposure that “seek to eliminate
privacy in order to determine normative compliance or to influence the individual” for particular aims or
interests. Marx (2004: 276) further provides a useful contrast between ‘traditional surveillance,’ defined as “close observation, especially of
a suspected person,: and its new forms, which he characterizes as “scrutiny through the use of technical means to extract or create personal or
group data, whether from individuals or contexts.” We are reporting on studies which examined the use of relatively low-tech surveillance on
skid row by police, private security, and community watch groups, on the one hand, and on the other hand, surveillance used by traditional
targets of normative surveillance, including buyers and sellers in the drug, prostitution and/or stolen goods markets, and other individuals
similarly defined as ‘deviant others.’ Here our concern is less with the extension or intensification of sophisticated surveillance techniques as
such (for example, in the interests of business or government) than with the asymmetrical, anonymous, and nonreciprocal surveillance of
vulnerable or suspicious social groups in public spaces. What these practices share is the use of surveillance techniques and strategies for: 1)
classifying and interpellating identities within a moralized physical space, for example to distinguish ‘good’ residents (and/or others who use
these spaces) and zones from those designated as ‘bad,’ and 2) fostering compliance with a particular set of normative values in that space.
Rather than follow the lead of other researchers who have focused on these contested fields of surveillance and counter-surveillance
themselves (Marx, 2003: Lyon, 2002; Staples, 2000), our primary aim is to examine the extent to which the research enterprise itself - through
direct observation, note-taking, photography, and the subsequent accumulation and analysis of visual and recorded data - is inextricably
embedded within similar and overlapping relations of power and knowledge.
Narrow Focus
Surveillance is ongoing close observation and collection of data for a narrow sector. It
is distinct from broad observation and external factors
Business dictionary No date
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/surveillance.html accessed 7/8/15
surveillance Definition Ongoing close observation and collection of data or evidence, for a specified
purpose or confined to a narrow sector. In comparison, environmental scanning is broad and includes all
associated external factors.
Non-Public Information
Violation – the aff curtails the use of federal acquisition of public information – that’s
not surveillance, which requires that an expectation of privacy is violated
Bedan, 7 - J.D. Candidate, Indiana University School of Law (Matt, “Echelon's Effect: The Obsolescence of
the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Legal Regime," Federal Communications Law Journal: Vol. 59: Iss. 2, Article
7. Available at: http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/fclj/vol59/iss2/7
The definition of surveillance, in pertinent form, is the acquisition of a communication either sent or
received by a "particular, known United States person who is in the United States," if the
communication was acquired by "intentionally targeting" that person, and if the circumstances are such
that they have a reasonable expectation of privacy. 53 Alternatively, "surveillance" also means the
acquisition of any communication to or from someone located in the United States, if the acquisition
occurs within the United States.54
It is clear from both FISA and Supreme Court precedent that an individual must have a reasonable
expectation of privacy for "surveillance" to occur. In United States v. Miller, the Supreme Court held that
individuals have no expectation of privacy in information held by a third party.55 Through the use of
National Security Letters, the FBI and the NSA routinely exploit this rule of law to acquire vast amounts
of personal information on U.S. citizens from private corporations, such as phone companies and
Internet service providers. 56 Because FISA's definition of surveillance fails to account for this practice,
the government is not required to get a warrant or make any certification of probable cause.
Considering how much the technological capacity of the private sector for gathering and retaining
personal information has increased in recent years, the privacy implications of government access to
this data are huge.