(Telecompaper) A federal judge in the US ruled that the National Security Agency's collection of phone records "almost certainly" violates the Constitution. US District Judge Richard Leon labeled as "almost Orwellian" the NSA's bulk phone-surveillance program, the Wall Street Journal reports. The ruling, in US District Court in Washington, DC, will have little immediate legal effect because the judge stayed the opinion until an expected government appeal is heard. However, it will add momentum to other court cases brought against the widespread surveillance and efforts in Congress to bring the NSA under tighter control.