What's most depressing about Judge Anna Diggs Taylor's decision in the NSA case is not that it's poorly reasoned or profoundly wrong. In the immediate sense it's only a nuisance, since she had to place her own ruling in immediate suspense and it will obviously be overturned. What's disturbing about it is that she and other judges like her manifestly do not see or do not care what contempt they create for the rule of law when they rule stupidly or vastly overreach their powers. As immodest and immoderate judges insist on issuing judgments that people can't possibly live by (e.g. you may not defend yourself from terrorists plotting to kill you), politicians will find ways around the courts and people will increasingly despise both judges and their rulings --and thus the rule of law. I don't fear her decision will make me more susceptible to terrorist attack in the short run. But it is likely to make my children unable to walk down the street unmolested in the long run. A malign and decadent ruling.
