James D.

Cowie
32 North Street
Portland Maine 04101

ELECTRONICALLY FILED
ON 06-27-06

THIS IS A VIRTUAL DUPLICATE OF THE ORIGINAL HARD COPY

SUBMITTED TO THE COMMISSION IN ACCORDANCE WITH ITS
ELECTRONIC FILING INSTRUCTIONS

June 27, 2006

Mr. Andrew Hagler, Presiding Officer

Docket No. 2006-274
Maine PUC
242 State Street, 18 State House Station
Augusta Maine 04333-0018

RE: MAINE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

Request for Commission Investigation into
Whether Verizon is Cooperating in Maine
With the National Security Agency’s
Warrantless Domestic Wiretapping Program
Docket No. 2006-274

Dear Mr. Hagler:

Your Procedural Order of June 23 mentioned that the OPA, the MCLU,
and I each filed comments on Verizon's response to the complaint and that the
OPA and I each objected to Verizon's request to respond to the comments.
Christopher Branson, Esq., one of the original 22 complainants, also filed
comments on Verizon's response, and also filed a letter objecting to its request,
but you mentioned neither filing in the Procedural Order.1
Unless this was an oversight it suggests that comments offered by a
complainant, who is not the lead complainant, may lack standing with the
Commission. In any event, as the recommendations the Procedural Order seeks
are due June 30, I ask you to please answer this question as promptly as you are
able: If a complainant wants to submit relevant comments to the Commission,
may she or he do so; or must she or he first request your permission; or must the
lead complainant submit such comments to the Commission on the
complainant's behalf?
Chapter 110 of the Commission’s rules defines “lead complainant” to be
"the agent for all the other complainants." When time allows, please provide an
explanation of what the Commission expects the lead complainant to do as “the
agent” for other complainants, and what an individual complainant may and may
not do [1] in a non-adjudicatory complaint case, and [2] as a party in an
adjudicatory complaint case.

1 The MCLU also objected to Verizon’s request, on June 21, which the Procedural Order did not mention.
 Thank you for your consideration of these matters.

Yours truly,

James D. Cowie
Lead Complainant

Cc: Donald Boecke, Esq., Verizon

Christopher B. Branson, Esq. Complainant
William C. Black, Esq., OPA
Zachery Heiden, Esq. MCLU