Judge Rules Parts Of Patriot Act Unconstitutional

By Kristopher Nelson on Sep 27, 2007

cbs5.com – Judge Rules Parts Of Patriot Act Unconstitutional:

(AP) PORTLAND, Ore. A federal judge ruled Wednesday that two provisions of the USA Patriot Act are unconstitutional because they allow search warrants to be issued without a showing of probable cause. 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.’

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The dual nature of the U.S. Constitution: It is so much more fun to "expound" on the "adaptable" Constitution and simply pretend that the "hard-wired" one can always be "worked around." But what if it can't? What if there is a gorilla (or rattlesnake) in the room?
What is the First Amendment?: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Neil Richards on "Reconciling Data Privacy and the First Amendment": In "Reconciling Data Privacy and the First Amendment," argues that privacy regulation is not speech regulation at all, and, additionally, that in commercial contexts at least, "speech restrictions ... have never triggered heightened First Amendment scrutiny." In other words, either the data being protected isn't "speech" in the legal sense, or "because they are legitimate speech regulations under existing doctrine."

About Kristopher Nelson

I'm currently a graduate student of the history of law and technology at the University of California, San Diego. I also provide law and technology consulting services. Additionally, I'm a non-practicing lawyer and former developer/sysadmin at a biotech non-profit. For more about me and my work, see krisnelson.org or my Google Profile.