The USA PATRIOT Act

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The USA PATRIOT Act
Dr. Matt Robinson Appalachian State University
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USA PATRIOT Act

• Stands for
• Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing
  Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and
  Obstruct Terrorism

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USA PATRIOT Act

• Purpose
• To deter and punish terrorist acts in the United
  States and around the world, to enhance law
  enforcement investigatory tools, and for other
  purposes.

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PATRIOT facts

• Signed into law on October 26, 2001 (45 days
  after 9/11/2001)
• Overwhelmingly passed and bi-partisan (98 to 1 in
  Senate and 357 to 66 in House)
• 342 pages long (did they read it?)

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PATRIOT facts

• Changes a dozen laws (e.g., FERPA, FISA)
• Reads like a computer manual
• Wrong bill (changed before the vote)
• No conference report

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PATRIOT facts

• Not meant to be permanent law (some sections
  sunset on Dec. 31, 2005)
• Only 3 of the troubling ones sunset
  (Sections 213, 215, 218)

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PATRIOT facts

• Representative James Sensenbrener USA PATRIOT
  Act renewal will be done over my dead body ... I
  said at the time I did not think there were the
  votes to pass the USA PATRIOT Act in the House
  without the sunset and I still stand by that
• Never mind! (Senate and House voted to extend
  law!) http//www.bordc.org/threats/legislation/ind
  ex.phpreauth

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PATRIOT benefits

• Encourages and eases sharing of information
  between various government agencies (including
  FBI, CIA, local law enforcement and immigration)

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PATRIOT benefits

• Easier to
• connect the dots of
• information about
• potential terrorist
• threats

Question Did we NOT have enough evidence to see
the attacks of 9/11 coming???
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• Mary Schiavo, former Inspector General for U.S.
  Dept. of Transportation (1990-1996)
• Resigned in 1996 after FAA tried to classify
  report detailing lax security at the nation's
  major airports (agents able to sneak fake bombs,
  hand grenades, guns and knives through metal
  detectors)

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Not to Mention

• Dozens and Dozens of warnings about planes being
  used as weapons against US targets!
  http//www.justiceblind.com/airplanes.html

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PATRIOT benefits

• Increases funding to
• patrol and secure
• Northern border of the
• United States

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PATRIOT benefits

• Permits rewards to
• combat terrorism and
• provides funding
• opportunities for
• training of firefighters
• and other first
• responders

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PATRIOT benefits

• Increases ability of law
• enforcement to
• intercept discussions of
• terror plans
• (Grants greater power to
• monitor telephone and Internet
• conversations of suspects)

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PATRIOT fears

• Gives access to any tangible things books,
  records, papers, documents for an investigation
  provided that such investigation of a U.S.
  person is not conducted solely upon the basis of
  activities protected by the First Amendment to
  the Constitution.

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PATRIOT fears

• like say buying a book from Amazon.com?

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PATRIOT fears

• A significant purpose
• must be for the
• gathering of
• foreign intelligence
• (Changed from the purpose)

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PATRIOT fears

• Intended for use in non-
• terrorist crimes against
• American citizens
• (Gives access to medical,
• financial, library, educational,
• and other personal records for
• normal criminal matters)

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PATRIOT fears
Forbids librarians and business owners
employees from informing people that their
records have been requested or seized
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PATRIOT fears
Allows taps of any and all phones of people
and monitoring of Internet use
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PATRIOT fears
Permits entry to homes to seize property without
even informing a search has taken place (sneak
and peak warrants)
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PATRIOT fears
Permits spying on religious and
political organizations and individuals
without any evidence of criminal activity
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PATRIOT fears
Creates domestic terrorism (criminal acts
dangerous to human life meant to influence the
policy of a government by intimidation or
coercion or to intimidate or coerce a
civilian population)
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PATRIOT realities

• No one outside of Justice Dept. knows how it is
  really being used
• Vigorously defended by Attorney General
  Ashcroft/Gonzalez
• Ashcroft 32-city tour cost taxpayers 200,000

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PATRIOT realities

• Website claims great successes
  (www.lifeandliberty.gov)
• Justice Dept. report provides some evidence (July
  2004 -- Report from the Field The USA PATRIOT
  Act at Work)
• http//www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/usapatriot/d
  oj_report.pdf

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PATRIOT realities

• Being used for non-
• terrorist crimes against
• Americans

Settle down!
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PATRIOT realities

• Law enforcement mislead FISA Court at least 75
  times
• Law enforcement visiting libraries
• Law enforcement monitoring, spying on,
  infiltrating peace groups

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PATRIOT backlash

• More than towns and counties and 8 states passed
  resolutions to modify law (more
  than 85 million Americans)
• National League of Cities passed resolution to
  modify law (245 million Americans)

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PATRIOT backlash

• House voted 309-118 to withdraw funding for
  sneak and peak warrants (9-4 in NC)
• Sanders-Paul-Conyers-Otter-Nadler Amendment to
  2005 spending bill defeated in tie (210-210)
• original vote was 219-201 to pass bill

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PATRIOT backlash

• SAFE Act supported by a diverse group of liberal
  and conservative groups (ACLU, ACU, ALA, GOA)
• Major conservatives against USA PATRIOT Act (Bob
  Barr, Dick Armey, Pat Buchanan, Newt Gingrich)

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PATRIOT backlash

• 95 of criminal justice experts say law passed
  too quickly
• 74 say law threatens civil liberties
• 68 believe that existing laws could be leveraged
  to protect the nation from terrorism

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PATRIOT backlash

• Federal Judge Audrey Collins declared Section 805
  unconstitutional (Jan. 23, 2004)
• Federal Judge Victor Marrero declared Section 505
  unconstitutional (Sept. 29, 2004)

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PATRIOT backlash

• Federal Judge Audrey Collins declared Section 805
  unconstitutional again! (Jul. 29, 2005)
• Judge Janet Hall lifted a gag order that had been
  imposed on a librarian by the FBI under the USA
  PATRIOT Act. (September 9, 2005)
• US Chamber of Commerce wrote letter to Senate
  Judiciary Committee to revise Sections 215 and
  505 (October 4, 2005)
• http//bordc.org/

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PATRIOT backlash

• Renewed in 2006 and again in 2010
• http//bordc.org/

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A Final Thought

• They that can give up essential liberty to
  obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither
  liberty nor safety