Two Provisions of the Patriot Act Ruled Unlawful

Posted by GottaLaff at 5:54 AM on September 27, 2007.

This post, written by GottaLaff, originally appeared Cliff Schecter's Blog

More of this, please:

Two provisions of the USA Patriot Act are unconstitutional because they allow search warrants to be issued without a showing of probable cause, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

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."

"For over 200 years, this Nation has adhered to the rule of law with unparalleled success. A shift to a Nation based on extra-constitutional authority is prohibited, as well as ill-advised," she wrote.

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."

[...] The Mayfield case has been an embarrassment for the federal government.

Tagged as: patriot act, bush administration, brandon mayfield

GottaLaff is a regular blogger for Cliff Schecter's Blog