Theresa M. Squillacote and her husband Kurt A. Stand were convicted in 1998 of conspiring to commit espionage against the United States on behalf of East Germany, the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation, and the Republic of South Africa. Squillacote and Stand v. United States of America
The investigation and prosecution of their case relied heavily on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the statute under which the government conducted clandestine surveillance of their residence.
In appealing their conviction, Squillacote and Stand questioned the use of the FISA, among other things. Their Petition for review by the Supreme Court, presented below, is perhaps the strongest challenge to the FISA that has been presented in the history of that 1978 statute. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court denied the Petition without comment on April 16, 2001.
- Petition for a Writ of Certiorari, filed with the U.S. Supreme Court on December 7, 2000 by Petitioners Squillacote and Stand. "Some or all of the 20 FISA orders ... were unlawfully issued and the evidence gathered as a result of those orders should have been suppressed." (Appendix to the Petition in PDF format only; 4.2 MB)
- Brief for the United States in Opposition filed with the U.S. Supreme Court by Acting Solicitor General Barbara Underwood, March 2001. "The petition for a writ of certiorari should be denied."
- Reply Brief from Petitioners filed with the U.S. Supreme Court on March 27, 2001. "In America, this Court sits to accord both sides of a dispute the opportunity to be heard.... If this case does not warrant disclosure of the underlying [FISA] affidavits, no case ever will."