Last week the Detroit Free Press profiled Judge Taylor, noting that she "is a liberal with Democratic roots" who campaigned for Jimmy Carter in 1976 and was "rewarded" in 1979 with a judicial nomination. The paper adds:

    Even if Taylor harpoons the spying program, experts said, the decision likely would be overturned by the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.

    "Given the composition of the 6th Circuit and its previous rulings in related areas, it seems more likely to favor national security over civil liberties if that issue is squarely presented," said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond in Virginia. "And that's what this case is all about."


The Justice Department has already appealed.