What was the original purpose of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act?

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978 was enacted to establish a formal legal regime for the government's collection of foreign intelligence within the United States. Its original purpose was to create a statutory framework and a secret court, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), to oversee and authorize electronic surveillance (wiretaps) by the executive branch for national security and foreign intelligence purposes. This was a direct response to revelations of warrantless surveillance activities conducted by intelligence agencies against U.S. persons and was intended to balance national security needs with the constitutional privacy rights established in cases like Katz v. United States.

A. The USA PATRIOT Act was passed in 2001, long after FISA's original enactment in 1978, and addressed different surveillance authorities.
B. While FISA operates within the constitutional framework of Katz, its specific purpose was to regulate national security surveillance, not to generally clarify the Katz decision.
D. The Olmstead decision, which allowed warrantless wiretaps, was overturned by Katz in 1967, well before FISA was passed in 1978.

1. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, Pub. L. No. 95-511, 92 Stat. 1783. The preamble and legislative history detail its purpose to authorize electronic surveillance for foreign intelligence purposes.

2. Congressional Research Service. (2018). The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA): An Overview (Report No. R45412). Summary, p. 1. "Congress enacted FISA in 1978 to govern electronic surveillance and physical searches for foreign intelligence purposes."

3. Berman, J., & Goldman, J. (2001). A Reader on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Center for Democracy & Technology. Section: "Introduction." This document discusses the historical context of FISA as a response to unchecked executive branch surveillance.