Federal judge describes Y2K, other work he has done

By Jill Gosche, jgosche@advertiser-tribune.com
A federal judge said it was one of his proudest moments to see how well agencies worked together to ensure the nation was safe following potential overseas threats as the year 2000 approached.

Federal Judge Michael Davis described the work as “heart-throbbing, stressful, scary.”

Davis said he was working with the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in Washington, D.C., in 1999 during the millenium “scare.” He said officials learned about a high amount of chatter about a possible threat from overseas and moved his operations to the Justice Department.

“Everything worked,” he said. “The warrants were issued.”

Davis spent two days in Tiffin. He spoke Tuesday afternoon about national security issues and reflected on the time he spent on the FISC in the nation’s capital.

Davis said he was appointed to the federal bench in 1994 and became a member of the FISC five years later.

He said he was the newest member of the group when he participated in his first meeting in May 1999. He attended a dinner in an area near the U.S. attorney general’s office.

“It was a festive affair,” he said.

Davis said then-Attorney General Janet Reno raised her glass, and the dinner attendees made a toast.

“We all raised our glass and said, ‘To the Republic,’” he recalled.

Davis said the court has been an effective tool in the nation’s effort against terrorism since Sept. 11, 2001. He said he served a seven-year, non-renewable term on the FISC.

Davis was involved in the Robert Hanssen case.

The judge said Hanssen was an FBI agent who served a spy for the Soviet Union. Hanssen was crafty and intelligent, and he gave information to U.S. enemies, he said.

Davis said a fingerprint on information Hanssen provided to enemies led to his identification. Hanssen avoided the death penalty because he had a lot of information to offer the U.S. government and instead is spending life in prison, he said.

Tom Newcomb, dean of TU’s School of Criminal Justice and Social Sciences, served as a legal adviser to FISC in 2003.

“(Davis) was a wonderful boss, and he’s exactly the kind of judge we would want in a position of high trust,” he said.

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