A professor at George Washington University law school, Orin Kerr, says the Times mischaracterized both his position and his remark about Judge Leon. Professor Kerr writes on the Volokh Conspiracy web site:
A New York Times story out on Judge Leon has me quoted as saying:
"He's very passionate," said Orin S. Kerr, a professor at the George Washington University Law School and a defender of the N.S.A.'s surveillance programs, who said he found the judge's ruling short "on legal reasoning."
Just to be clear, I told the reporter that this specific opinion was passionate, not that Judge Leon is passionate. The reporter specifically asked me if I thought Judge Leon was passionate, and I declined to answer on the ground that I didn't know Judge Leon or his decisions well enough to feel comfortable characterizing him or his work as a whole.
Second, I am not a defender of the NSA's surveillance program. Contrary to the reporter's characterization, I think this program violates the FISA statute. I just happen to think that the program is consistent with existing Fourth Amendment precedent; it is fine under the Constitution but is hard to square with the statutory text.