Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA)

The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court "was established in 1978 when Congress enacted the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which is codified, as amended, at 50 U.S.C. §§ 1801-1885c. The Court sits in Washington D.C., and is composed of eleven federal district court judges who are designated by the Chief Justice of the United States.  Each judge serves for a maximum of seven years and their terms are staggered to ensure continuity on the Court.  By statute, the judges must be drawn from at least seven of the United States judicial circuits, and three of the judges must reside within 20 miles of the District of Columbia.  Judges typically sit for one week at a time, on a rotating basis. Pursuant to FISA, the Court entertains applications submitted by the United States Government for approval of electronic surveillance, physical search, and other investigative actions for foreign intelligence purposes.  Most of the Court’s work is conducted ex parte as required by statute, and due to the need to protect classified national security information."

"The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review was established in 1978 when Congress enacted The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which is codified, as amended, at 50 U.S.C §§ 1801-1885c.  The Court sits in Washington D.C., and is composed of three federal district court or appeals court judges who are designated by the Chief Justice of the United States.  The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review was established to review the decisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court."