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USA Patriot Act
[Unifying and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate
Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism]
By: Michael Kirkley
Max Borman
Tiffany Pham
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Introduction
The USA Patriot Act introduced into the House of Representatives by
Frank James Sensenbrenner on Oct. 23, 2001 and soon after signed by
President George W. Bush on Oct. 26, 2001.
The act was in response to the 9/11 attacks and significantly reduced
restrictions on law enforcement agencies of gathering intelligence of the
general public. It also expanded The Secretary of Treasury's power to
regulate financial transactions, especially those involving foreign
individuals.
Surprisingly all Democrats and Republicans voted for it, and the act was
opposed by only one vote, and that being Senator Russ Feingold.
Constitutional Underpinning
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Necessary and Proper Clause "Elastic Clause" - The Congress shall have
the power to make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for
carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers
vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States or in
any Department or Officer thereof. (Article 1, Sec 8, Clause 18)
Supreme Court Refused to Review Warrantless Wiretapping Case - The
supreme court refused to review a legal challenge against the Bush
Administration's warrantless surveillance program. Journalists, the ACLU
(American Civil Liberties Union), scholars, and attorneys claimed that the
unchecked surveillance program disrupted their ability to communicate
with their clients and sources.
Current Event
Surveillance Under the Patriot Act
October 24, 2011
While most Americans think that the Patriot Act was created to catch
terrorists, the act turns regular citizens into suspects. National Security
Letters (NSLs) were issued by FBI Agents without a judge's approval to
obtain personal information. (Phone/Computer records, Credit/Banking
history.) Between 2003 and 2006 192,499 NSL's were issued with only 1
leading to a terror-related conviction, which would have happened even
without the patriot act. This presents the issue of privacy where the
Patriot Act doesn't require information obtained to be destroyed, even if
the information is determined to concern innocent citizens. Now, at least
34,000 Law enforcement agencies have access to phone records through
NSL.
Between 2003 and 2005, the FBI made 53 reported criminal referrals to
prosecutors as a result of 143,074 NSL's. Of those 53 referrals, none were
for terrorism.
Washington, March 6, 2006
State Rights Argument
On the eve of House consideration of amendments to the USA PATRIOT Act, Congressman
Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH) issued the following statement::
“At the very time our troops are overseas heroically fighting and dying in the name of
protecting and promoting freedom and democracy, tomorrow the House of
Representatives will consider a bill to strip those very freedoms at home.
“The PATRIOT Act threatens the civil liberties of every citizen of this nation, and is a full
frontal assault on the Bill of Rights and our Constitution. Like every other Member of
Congress I take an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America, to vote
for this bill would violate this sacred oath. This bill violates the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth,
Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to our Constitution.
“The PATRIOT Act permits the government to continue to conduct criminal investigations
without probable cause, to conduct secret searches, to gain wide powers of phone and
internet surveillance, and access highly personal medical, financial, mental health, and
student records with minimal judicial oversight.
“This bill threatens to turn back the clock on over 200 years of progress in the protection of civil
liberties in this nation.
“America can and must be both safe and free. The USA PATRIOT Act fails to protect citizens,
fails the Constitution of the United States and fails this great nation.”
State Rights Argument
Mayfield, a Muslim convert, was taken into custody on May 6, 2004, because of
a fingerprint found on a detonator at the scene of the Madrid bombing. The
FBI said the print matched Mayfield's. He was released about two weeks
later, and the FBI admitted it had erred in saying the fingerprints were his
and later apologized to him.
Before his arrest, the FBI put Mayfield under 24-hour surveillance, listened to
his phone calls and surreptitiously searched his home and law office.
U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken ruled that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Act, as amended by the Patriot Act, "now permits the executive branch of
government to conduct surveillance and searches of American citizens
without satisfying the probable cause requirements of the Fourth
Amendment."
Mayfield claimed that secret searches of his house and office under the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act violated the Fourth Amendment's guarantee
against unreasonable search and seizure. Aiken agreed with Mayfield,
repeatedly criticizing the government.
By asking her to dismiss Mayfield's lawsuit, the judge said, the U.S. attorney
general's office was "asking this court to, in essence, amend the Bill of
Rights, by giving it an interpretation that would deprive it of any real
meaning. This court declines to do so."
State Rights Argument
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The government may search and seize Americans' papers and
effects without probable cause to assist terror investigation. [IV]
The government may jail Americans indefinitely without a trial. [VI]
To assist terror investigation, the government may monitor
religious and political institutions without suspecting criminal
activity . [I]
The government may monitor conversations between attorneys
and clients in federal prisons and deny lawyers to Americans
accused of crimes. [VI]
The government may prosecute librarians or keepers of any other
records if they tell anyone the government subpoenaed [a writ by
a government agency that has the authority to compel testimony
by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure]
information related to a terror investigation. [I]
Americans may be jailed without being charged or being able to
confront witnesses against them. US citizens (labeled "unlawful
combatants") have been held incommunicado and refused
attorneys. [VI]
State
Rights
Argument
As of August 23, 2011, some 414 local, county, and state governments had passed
resolutions opposing the USA PATRIOT Act. This included 406 cities and counties, as
well as 8 states. (All 414 resolutions had been passed by December 4, 2007.)
The text of the New York City resolution is representative of the major concerns
expressed by all the resolutions generally. For example, it asserts that:
"Certain federal policies adopted since September 11, 2001, including certain provisions
in the USA PATRIOT Act ... unduly infringe upon fundamental rights and liberties."
"These new policies may undermine trust between immigrant communities and the
government, and in particular, pose a threat to the civil rights and liberties of the
residents of our city who are or who appear to be Arab, Muslim or of South Asian
descent."
"The Council of the City of New York calls upon our United States Representatives and
Senators to ... actively work for the repeal of those sections of the USA PATRIOT Act
and related federal actions that unduly infringe upon fundamental rights and liberties as
recognized in the U.S. Constitution and its Amendments."
State Rights Argument
From the moment the Patriot Act was passed into law in October 2001, a
host of leftwing activists (and the organizations they represented)
launched a relentless campaign of attacks smearing the legislation as an
invasive assault on the freedoms of all Americans. Among the leaders of
this anti-Patriot Act coalition were officials and spokespersons of such
groups as the Center for Constitutional Rights, the American Civil
Liberties Union, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, the National
Coalition to Protect Political Freedom, the National Lawyers Guild, the
Humanitarian Law Project, People For the American Way, the National
Coalition to Repeal the Patriot Act, the American Muslim Alliance, the
American Muslim Council, the American Muslim Union, the AmericanArab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Council on American-Islamic
Relations, the Islamic Circle of North America, the Islamic Society of
North America, the Muslim American Society, the Muslim Public Affairs
Council, and the Muslim Students Association of the United States and
Canada.
National Government Argument
• Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 gives the authorities
narrowly defined process for electronic surveillance to be used- also called
Title III
• Congress enacted the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in
1978
o  This like Title III but allows authorities to wiretap foreign
intelligence
National Rights Argument
•  As of May 5, 2004, the Department has charged 310 defendants
with criminal offenses as a result of terrorism investigations since
the attacks of September 11, 2001, and 179 of those defendants
have already been convicted.
The Department has used certain provisions in the USA PATRIOT
Act to combat serious criminal conduct, such as child pornography,
drug smuggling, and kidnapping.
In July of 2004, the investigation and prosecution of members of
an al Qaeda cell in Lackawanna, New York illustrates the benefits
of the increased information sharing brought about by the USA
PATRIOT Act.
o  intelligence officers and law enforcement agents were now
motivated to share case-sensitive information with each
other
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National Rights Argument
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In 2002, a package intended for a New Jersey man was mistakenly delivered to another
person. Inside the package were fraudulent identification documents. Law enforcement
investigators learned that the identification documents had been sent by a man in Texas
who was found to possess a large quantity of weapons, including chemical weapons such
as sodium cyanide. A subsequent search of the New Jersey man’s residence revealed
many guns and gas masks, numerous knives including those made to avoid setting off a
metal detector, a crossbow, and thousands of rounds of ammunition including hollow point
and armor piercing bullets. As a result of section 219, law enforcement agents were
quickly able to secure a search warrant in New Jersey for a search of Vermont properties
associated with the New Jersey man, rather than having to go through the additional time
and effort necessary to secure such a warrant in Vermont.
A noteworthy use of section 219 occurred during the ongoing anthrax investigation,
when FBI agents applied for a warrant to search the premises of America Media, Inc. in
Boca Raton, Florida – the employer of the first anthrax victim. Using section 219, agents
were able to obtain a search warrant from the federal judge in Washington, D.C.
overseeing the wide-ranging investigation. Investigators saved valuable time by
petitioning the local federal judge who was most familiar with the case.
Works Cited List
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http://www.aclu.org/
http://www.wikipedia.org/
http://www.acluutah.org/
03fall.htm
http://kucinich.house.gov/news/
documentprint.aspx?
DocumentID=40307
http://www.scn.org/ccapa/pavs-const.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Subpoena
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/
id/20999950/ns/us_newssecurity/t/judge-rules-partpatriot-act-unconstitutional/
#.UFkxcI1mRFt
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www.fas.org/irp/crs/
RL31377.pdf
www.justice.gov/olp/pdf/
patriot_report_from_the_field
0704.pdf
http://www.danielpipes.org/
1853/brandon-mayfield-caseif-you-are-muslim-you-aresuspect
http://
www.thepowerhour.com/
past_news/
past_news_may_2008.htm
http://
www.discoverthenetworks.or
g/guideDesc.asp?
catId=96&type=ind