Judge who struck down wiretaps accused of conflict of interest

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Judge who struck down wiretaps accused of conflict of interest

A conservative watchdog group is accusing the judge who recently struck down the NSA wiretap program as unconstitutional of failing to recuse herself in spite of a conflict of interest, RAW STORY has learned.

In an injunction ordered an immediate halt to the program, US District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor sided with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) by barring warrantless NSA surveillance, which she found "violates the Separation of Powers doctrine, the Administrative Procedures Act, the First and Fourth Amendments to the United States Constitution, the FISA and Title III."

According to her 2003 and 2004 financial disclosure statements, Judge Diggs Taylor served as secretary and trustee for the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan (CFSEM). She was re-elected to this position in June 2005. The official CFSEM website states that the foundation made a "recent grant" of $45,000 over two years to the ACLU of Michigan--a plaintiff in the wiretapping case.

According to the CFSEM website, "The Foundation's trustees make all funding decisions at meetings held on a quarterly basis."

Conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch is crying foul. "If Judge Diggs Taylor failed to disclose this link to a plaintiff in a case before her court," said President Tom Fitton, "it would certainly call into question her judgment."

The group also points to another potential conflict of interest for Diggs Taylor, who is is also the presiding judge in a case involving the Arab Community Center for Social and Economic Services (ACCESS). In 2003, the CFSEM donated $180,000 to ACCESS.

Judicial Watch has made Diggs Taylor's financial disclosure documents available here.