In Muslim Community Association of Ann Arbor v. The ACLU filed a lawsuit in July 2003 on behalf of six groups, several of which provide some form of support to Muslims in America, challenging Section 215 of the Patriot Act. Though most objections to the Patriot Act center on the Fourth Amendment, some critics contend that the act also intrudes deeply on fundamental First Amendment rights. They also called for certain provisions in the Patriot Act that were set to expire at the end of 2005 to be made permanent. At the same time the executive branch and some legislative leaders called for a strengthening of some provisions.
This criticism led to modifications of several provisions. In its 2009 report, Reclaiming Patriotism: A Call to Reconsider the Patriot Act, the ACLU wrote: “The Patriot Act eroded our most basic right - the freedom from unwarranted government intrusion into our private lives - and thwarted constitutional checks and balances.”Īs time passed, more members of Congress also objected to certain provisions of the law. The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups have mounted a hearty campaign of opposition to the Patriot Act, challenging several of its provisions in federal courts. The Patriot Act lowers those standards even more. The standards are relaxed under FISA if the subject is suspected of being, say, a foreign spy. The Fourth Amendment prohibits government officials from engaging in “unreasonable searches and seizures.” Normally, the Fourth Amendment requires law enforcement officials to obtain a warrant based on probable cause before searching a person’s home. Most of the criticism of the Patriot Act concerns its seeming infringements on Fourth Amendment rights. John Whitehead, founder of the Rutherford Institute, has written that “the Patriot Act violates at least six of the ten original amendments known as the Bill of Rights - the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Amendments - and possibly the Thirteenth and Fourteenth as well.” The law permits roving wiretaps and so-called “sneak and peek” warrants, adds new terrorist crimes, knocks down the wall between foreign and domestic intelligence, amends the definition of domestic terrorism and makes many other changes too numerous to catalog. The massive law, 342 pages long, amends at least 15 separate federal laws, including the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, the Electronic Communication Privacy Act of 1986, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act. The name of the act perhaps helped ensure its easy passage USA PATRIOT stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism. President Bush signed the behemoth bill into law on Oct. The House voted 357-66 in favor of the measure, while the Senate voted 98-1 with only Sen. Robert Levy, senior fellow in constitutional studies at the Cato Institute, has written that the Patriot Act represents “the looming sacrifice of civil liberties at the altar of national security.”Ĭongress approved the Patriot Act by an overwhelming margin shortly after the infamous terrorist acts. “The Patriot Act has been a big part of that.”ĭetractors counter that the Patriot Act represents a loss of individual liberty and a naked grasp for power by the executive branch of government, particularly over the judicial branch. Bush credited the Patriot Act with helping “break up terror cells in Ohio, New York, Oregon and Virginia.” “We’ve stopped 28 terrorist attacks since 9/11,” said James Carafano, a homeland security expert at the Heritage Foundation, four years later. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in Congress in April 2004 that “the biggest hero to emerge from the hearings before the 9/11 Commission has been the Patriot Act.” In March 2006, President George W.
Supporters contend the Patriot Act is responsible for preventing further catastrophes. It has taken center stage in a vigorous debate over the proper balance between national security and individual liberty. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the USA Patriot Act has been a lightning rod for controversy. Since its passage 45 days after the Sept.
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