(Updated Jan. 18, 2023, see below) Since 2010, law enforcement agencies in the United States have had direct access to an increasing volume of bulk data about people’s wire transfer transactions. The core of this previously secret program is a database containing records of virtually every money transfer of more than $500 sent to, from, or within Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas, or Mexico.

This practice advisory aims to: 1) explain what was involved in this bulk money transfer surveillance program; and 2) provide defense counsel with potential challenges to it.

We write to urge that the Senate Judiciary Committee promptly hold confirmation hearings on President Obama’s nominees to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB). As you know, as of December of last year, President Obama has nominated a full bipartisan slate of five nominees to serve on the Board … While many of our organizations do not take positions endorsing or opposing any specific candidates, we all agree it is critical that this Committee and the full Senate act quickly to move forward with the confirmation process and allow the PCLOB to begin its important work.

We the undersigned support ending the bulk collection of all types of data under all legal authorities, while preserving the requirement of prior court approval for surveillance under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. We recognize the substantial step in this direction the House Judiciary Committee and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence took in unanimously passing the USA FREEDOM Act (H.R. 3361). The bill includes several components critical to meaningful reform... We respectfully urge you to oppose efforts to weaken these or other provisions in this historic bill.

We represent a wide range of privacy and human rights advocates, technology companies, and trade associations that hold an equally wide range of positions on surveillance reform. Many of us have differing views on exactly what reforms must be included in any bill reauthorizing USA PATRIOT Act Section 215, which currently serves as the legal basis for the NSA’s bulk collection of telephone metadata and is set to expire on June 1, 2015. Our broad, diverse, and bipartisan coalition believes that the status quo is untenable and that it is urgent that Congress move forward with reform.

We write to urge you not to renew the Section 215 Bulk Telephony Metadata Program when the current order expires on June 20, 2014. The program is not effective. It should end.

We support ending the bulk collection of all types of data under all legal authorities, while preserving the requirement of prior court approval for surveillance under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). We recognize the substantial step in this direction the House Judiciary Committee and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence took in unanimously passing the USA FREEDOM Act (H.R. 3361). … We respectfully urge you to oppose efforts to weaken these or other provisions in this historic bill.

We are organizations that believe that our nation’s surveillance laws can effectively target terrorists without jeopardizing the rights of innocent United States persons. We are very concerned that the recently enacted Protect America Act of 2007 may be used to justify the warrantless interception of any international communications by U.S. persons without any restriction on the subsequent review and data mining of the metadata concerning those calls or the content of the communications themselves.

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) commends the Judiciary Committee for holding another oversight hearing on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) scheduled to take place on October 2, 2013. ... NACDL reiterates its support of the reform measures set forth in the July letter and today makes an additional recommendation for reform as the Committee undertakes this week's hearing.

We are very glad that the Board has been fully constituted, and we greatly appreciate your immediate attention and work in response to the recent disclosures concerning NSA surveillance. We understand that you are meeting to consider the impact of these NSA programs on privacy and civil liberties. We write to ask that, as one of your first action items, you urge the administration to make public information about the legal authorities for government surveillance of Americans.

We urge the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board to follow the House’s lead and to recommend that backdoor searches under section 702 be prohibited. Such access should be granted only when the government has obtained an order from the FISA [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] Court upon a showing of probable cause that the U.S. person whose communications are sought is an agent of a foreign power.

Brief of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers as Amicus Curiae in Support of Appellant.