does the patriot act abridge essential freedom

#Does the patriot act abridge essential freedom trial
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#Does the patriot act abridge essential freedom free

fter 9-11, Headquarters encouraged more and more detentions for what seem to be essentially PR purposes.

#Does the patriot act abridge essential freedom plus

The vast majority of the one thousand plus persons 'detained' in the wake of 9-11 did not turn out to be terrorists. Such policies waste scarce government resources that should be used to track down real criminals, and help sew the seeds of mistrust among communities that might otherwise be willing to assist the government in arresting terrorists.Īs FBI special agent Coleen Rowley observed in a recent letter to Director Robert Mueller, questioning the FBI's priorities in investigating and fighting terrorism: Eroding Checks and Balances Is a False SolutionĪnti-terrorism policies that infringe on basic rights - such as ethnically-based roundups of innocent persons, or intrusive surveillance of peaceful political activists - not only make America less free, they make our nation more vulnerable to terrorism.

#Does the patriot act abridge essential freedom free

This section explains why eroding checks and balances is a false solution to the real problem of terrorism, and then explains just how Patriot Act 2 would further erode three key checks and balances - the courts, Congress, and the free press. They also help the government, ensuring that its resources are concentrated on arrests of real criminals - not on ineffective, feel-good solutions advanced by political leaders anxious to reassure a frightened public. They ensure that government actions taken for very important purposes, such as to prevent terrorism or other crime, do not violate the rights of ordinary citizens, and that government is held accountable when they do. Checks and balances help ensure both safety and freedom. Under our Constitution, government powers are subject to control by the courts, the Congress, and ultimately by the American people, informed by a free press. These are only examples of the unfettered powers that the new bill would grant to the government for a complete analysis, please see ACLU's detailed section-by-section summary, available on our website.

Unfairly targets immigrants under the pretext of fighting terrorism by stripping even lawful immigrants of the right to a fair deportation hearing and stripping the federal courts of their power to correct unlawful actions by the immigration authorities (secs.

322), even if the United States Senate has not approved a treaty with that government and

#Does the patriot act abridge essential freedom trial

321), and to extradite American citizens to face trial in foreign courts (sec.

Gives foreign dictatorships the power to seek searches and seizures in the United States (sec.

428, 428), and their supporters could even risk losing their citizenship (sec.

Further expands the reach of an already overbroad definition of terrorism so that organizations engaged in civil disobedience are at risk of government wiretapping (secs.

201), and imposing severe restrictions on the release of information about the hazards to the community posed by chemical and other plants (sec.

Allows government to operate in secret by authorizing secret arrests (sec.

126, 128, 129), and by allowing wiretaps without a court order for up to 15 days following a terrorist attack (sec. 312), allowing the government to obtain credit records and library records secretly and without judicial oversight (secs.

Further dismantles court review of surveillance, such as by terminating court-approved limits on police spying on religious and political activity (sec.

The Domestic Security Enhancement Act (also called 'Patriot Act 2'): (3) explaining how these new powers could go beyond affecting the rights of suspected terrorists and impact ordinary people of diverse constituencies. (2) explaining how those provisions undermine key checks and balances, including the federal courts, Congress and the press, and

This statement tries to make sense of these issues, by Patriot Act 2, like its predecessor, is technical and complex. The draft legislation, which has been dubbed 'Patriot Act 2,' would grant sweeping powers to the government, eliminating or weakening many of the checks and balances that remained on government surveillance, wiretapping, detention and criminal prosecution even after passage of the USA PATRIOT Act. A draft copy of this legislation, dated January 2003, recently became available.

The Department of Justice is currently drafting legislation designed as a sequel to the USA PATRIOT Act. The USA PATRIOT Act, passed by Congress shortly after September 11, 2001, increases government surveillance, detention and other law enforcement powers while reducing basic checks and balances on such powers.