Oregon Public Broadcasting

A federal judge in California has ruled in favor of an Oregon charity that claims it was illegally wiretapped. April Baer reports.

This round goes to the defunct Ashland charity Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation of Oregon.

The Foundation's legal team has spent the past four years trying to prove the federal government listened to phone conversations between Al-Haramain and its attorneys in 2004.

The Justice Department maintains relevant information to the case is protected by the state secrets privilege. But Judge Vaughn Walker found that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, takes precedence.

A spokeswoman for the Justice Department says the ruling is being reviewed.

Steve Goldberg is a Portland attorney who's helping represent Al-Haramain.

Steve Goldberg: "I think you could be fairly well assured it doesn't end the matter."

Since the case began, the Obama administration has ordered broader reviews before the state secrets privilege can be invoked.