[Reader-list] Judge Rules Against Patriot Act Provision

[Lawrence Liang]

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From: Nandkumar Saravade <saravade at gmail.com>
Reply-To: Nandkumar Saravade <saravade at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 1 Oct 2004 08:45:55 +0530
To: <cyberlaw-india at yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [claw-in] FW: Judge Rules Against Patriot Act Provision

http://www.reuters.com/printerFriendlyPopup.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=63697
63

Judge Rules Against Patriot Act Provision
Wed Sep 29, 2004 04:52 PM ET

By Gail Appleson

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Surveillance powers granted to the FBI under the
Patriot Act, a cornerstone of the Bush Administration's war on terror,
were ruled unconstitutional by a judge on Wednesday in a new blow to
U.S. security policies.

U.S. District Judge Victor Marreo, in the first decision against a
surveillance portion of the act, ruled for the American Civil
Liberties Union in its challenge against what it called "unchecked
power" by the FBI to demand confidential customer records from
communication companies, such as Internet service providers or
telephone companies.

Marrero, stating that "democracy abhors undue secrecy," found that the
law violates constitutional prohibitions against unreasonable
searches. He said it also violated free speech rights by barring those
who received FBI demands from disclosing they had to turn over
records.

Because of this gag order, the ACLU initially had to file its suit
against the Department of Justice under seal to avoid penalties for
violation of the surveillance laws.

Although the ACLU's suit was filed on behalf of an Internet access
firm, the ruling could apply to other entities that have received FBI
secretive subpoenas, known as national security letters.

The ACLU said that the Patriot Act provision was worded so broadly
that it could effectively be used to obtain the names of customers of
Web sites such as Amazon.com or eBay, or a political organization's
membership list, or even the names of sources that a journalist has
contacted by e-mail.

"This is a landmark victory against the Ashcroft Justice Department's
misguided attempt to intrude into the lives of innocent Americans in
the name of national security," said ACLU Executive Director Anthony
Romero.

"Even now, some in Congress are trying to pass additional intrusive
law enforcement powers. This decision should put a halt to those
efforts," he said.

PATRIOT ACT

He said the suit was one of the ACLU's legal battles to block certain
sections of the Patriot Act that went "too far, too fast."

The FBI has had power to issue national security letters demanding
customers records from communication companies since 1986. These
letters do not require court supervision, but the FBI could at first
only seek such private information if the subject was suspected of
being a foreign spy.

In 1993, Congress expanded the powers further to include people who
communicated with suspected spies or terrorists.

But a section of the Patriot Act -- a controversial law the Bush
administration pushed through Congress after the Sept. 11, 2001
attacks to help it battle terrorism -- gave the FBI even more power to
obtain information through these letters.

In his ruling, Marrero prohibited the Department of Justice and the
FBI from issuing the national security letters, but delayed
enforcement of his judgment pending an expected appeal by the
government. The Department of Justice said it was reviewing the
ruling.

The decision is the latest blow to the Bush administration's
anti-terrorism policies.

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that terror suspects being held
in U.S. facilities like Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, can use the American
judicial system to challenge their confinement. That ruling was a
defeat for the president's assertion of sweeping powers to hold "enemy
combatants" indefinitely after the Sept. 11 attacks.


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