FISCR: Stay Tuned for Declassified Version of 2008 Directives Opinion

The Foreign Intelligence Court of Review ("FISCR") issued this order today. It concerns the FISC's 2008 opinion in In Re Directives, an appeal brought by Yahoo! and regarding directives for warrantless electronic surveillance of some of the company's customers.  In a heavily classified ruling, the appeals court had affirmed a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court ("FISC") order requiring Yahoo! to comply. Today's ruling announces that a long-running declassification review, prompted by Yahoo! and eventually carried out by the United States in consultation with the FISCR and Yahoo!, has come to an end.  Thus the operative part of the ruling;

In light of the government's declassification review of this court's opinion and the record materials in this case, the court sees no reason to continue to treat the declassified portions of the opinion and record as sealed. The court therefore orders the declassified portions of those documents to be unsealed.

It seems we can expect a relatively less redacted version of the 2008 opinion any day now.