USA PATRIOT Act

The USA PATRIOT Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001) {{ref|name}} (U.S. H.R. 3162, S. 1510, Public Law 107-56) is an act of federal legislation in the United States.

Related Topics:
U.S. - H.R. - Public Law - Legislation

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Enacted by the U.S. Congress after the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks, the act enhances the authority of U.S. law enforcement for the stated purpose of investigating and preempting potential terrorist acts in the United States and around the world. Because the USA PATRIOT Act is a revision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), this enhanced legal authority is also used to detect and prosecute other alleged potential crimes. Expanding on FISA, the USA Act defines terrorism as an activity that meets all of the following three criteria:

Related Topics:
U.S. Congress - September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks - Terrorist acts - Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act - Other alleged potential crimes - USA Act

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• It intimidates or coerces the government or civil population
• It breaks criminal laws
• It endangers human life.

This definition is adopted in the USA PATRIOT Act. Critics claim the Act is unnecessary and enables U.S. law enforcement to infringe upon free-speech, freedom of the press, human rights, and right to privacy. It is most controversial among critics for section 215 (see below) and section 216, which allows judges to grant government investigators ex parte orders to look into personal phone and internet records on the basis of being "relevant for an on going investigation concerning international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities", rather than probable cause as outlined in the fourth amendment. http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/hr3162.html

Related Topics:
Free-speech - Freedom of the press - Human rights - Right to privacy - See below - Ex parte - Probable cause - Fourth amendment

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The bill passed 98–1 in the United States Senate, and 357–66 in the United States House of Representatives; Senator Russ Feingold (Democrat, Wisconsin) cast the Senate's lone dissenting vote, and Senator Mary Landrieu (Democrat, Louisiana) was the sole non-voting member. President George W. Bush signed the bill into law on October 26, 2001. Assistant Attorney General Viet D. Dinh and current Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff are the primary authors of the Act.

Related Topics:
Bill - United States Senate - United States House of Representatives - Russ Feingold - Democrat - Wisconsin - Vote - Mary Landrieu - Louisiana - President - George W. Bush - October 26 - 2001 - Assistant Attorney General - Viet D. Dinh - Michael Chertoff

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There is some confusion about the number of charges and convictions based on the USA PATRIOT Act. John Ashcroft in his 2004 statement The Department of Justice: Working to Keep America Safer reported that there have been 368 individuals criminally charged in terrorism investigations, and later used the numbers 372 and 375. Of these he stated that 194 (later 195) resulted in convictions or guilty pleas. (The original statement Working to Keep America Safer; the statement is reduced to a bullet list in 2004 Criminal Division Annual Report on page 9.). In June 2005, President Bush stated terrorism investigations yielded more than 400 charges, more than half of which resulted in convictions or guilty pleas. In some of these cases, federal prosecutors chose to charge suspects with non-terror related crimes for immigration, fraud and conspiracy.

Related Topics:
John Ashcroft - 2004

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