On August 1, 2002, Collyer was nominated by President
George W. Bush to a seat on the
United States District Court for the District of Columbia vacated by
Thomas Penfield Jackson. Collyer was confirmed by the
United States Senate on November 14, 2002, and received her commission on November 15, 2002. She assumed
senior status on May 18, 2016. In 2013, Collyer was appointed by the Chief Justice of the United States to a seven-year term on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. She was succeeded by
FISC Judge
James E. Boasberg elevated to preside.
Notable cases Judge Collyer presided over a number of
habeas corpus petitions submitted on behalf of
Guantanamo captives. Judge Collyer enjoined any further insurer reimbursements without a valid appropriation, but stayed her order pending appeal. Collyer was one of four
FISA Court judges who approved a
FISA warrant (issued in October 2016 and renewed several times) authorizing the wiretapping of
Carter Page, a
Trump campaign aide the FBI believed was
conspiring with Russia to interfere with the
2016 U.S. elections. In December 2019 Collyer issued an order saying the FBI "provided false information to the National Security Division (NSD) of the Department of Justice, and withheld material information from NSD which was detrimental to the FBI's case, in connection with four applications to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) for authority to conduct electronic surveillance of a U.S. citizen named Carter W. Page" ordering the government to inform the court of planned procedures to "ensure that the statement of facts in each FBI application accurately and completely reflects information possessed by the FBI that is material to any issue presented by the application." ==References==