The Court That May Evaluate NSA Surveillance Hasn't Yet 'Gotten to Email'

The ultimate decision on the legality of NSA surveillance may come down to the Supreme Court. Perhaps by then the justices have learned how to use email.

The Court's technological ignorance doesn't come as much of a surprise. Last year marked the first time that Pew Research found a majority of seniors use the Internet and email. And the Supreme Court — average age: 67 — certainly falls into that demographic category.

It was Justice Elana Kagan (age: 53) who told Politico that email isn't yet at the top of her colleagues' to-do list.

"The justices are not necessarily the most technologically sophisticated people," she said, adding that while clerks email each other, "The court hasn't really 'gotten to' email." …

Kagan said it was hard to predict what cases the court will address down the line, but said she expects there will be new issues related to privacy, emerging technologies and electronic snooping.

It's easy to find this amusing, that members of the highest court in the land may not know the difference between the subject field and the message body. But considering that second part, that the body is also the one that will likely be tasked with evaluating the NSA's use of Internet monitoring systems and the agency's review of Americans' online activity, it's not very funny.

Read more at The Atlantic Wire.