Anna Diggs Taylor, a United States District federal judge in Detroit, Michigan has ruled that wiretaps on telephones without a warrant is "unconstitutional" and that any of those wire taps "must be halted immediately."

Defendants assert that they cannot defend this case without the exposure of state secrets. This court disagrees. The Bush Administration has repeatedly told the general public that there is a valid basis in law for the [Terrorist Surveillance Program].9 Further, Defendants have contended that the President has the authority under the AUMF and the Constitution to authorize the continued use of the TSP. Defendants have supported these arguments without revealing or relying on any classified information," said Taylor in a statement. Taylor also said that the tapping violates "the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution, privacy and free speech."

In 2001, President George W. Bush approved a program that would allow the U.S. government to tap any calls to monitor possible terrorist activiy. The government argued that the program is well within the president's authority. The Justice Department wrote that "In the ongoing conflict with al Qaeda and its allies, the president has the primary duty under the Constitution to protect the American people". In her opinion Judge Taylor wrote that "We must first note that the Office of the Chief Executive has itself been created, with its powers, by the Constitution. There are no hereditary Kings in America and no powers not created by the Constitution. So all 'inherent powers' must derive from that Constitution. "

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed the lawsuit. The government is expected to appeal the decision.