2 Patriot Act Provisions Ruled Unlawful

AP via SFGate ^ | 9/26/7

[SmithL]

Portland, Ore. (AP) -- 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."

[SmithL]

Aiken, Ann L.

Born 1951 in Salem, OR

Federal Judicial Service:
Judge, U. S. District Court, District of Oregon
Nominated by William J. Clinton on January 7, 1997, to a seat vacated by James A. Redden; Confirmed by the Senate on January 28, 1998, and received commission on February 4, 1998.

Education:
University of Oregon, B.S., 1974

Rutgers University, M.A., 1976

University of Oregon Law School, J.D., 1979

Professional Career:
Law clerk, Hon. Edwin Allen, Lane County Circuit Court, 1979-1980
Private practice, Oregon, 1980-1982
Fundraiser/field staff, Kulongoski for Governor, 1982
Chief clerk, Oregon House of Representatives, 1982-1983
Private practice, Oregon, 1983-1988
Judge, Lane County, Oregon District Court, 1988-1992
Judge, Lane County, Oregon Circuit Court, 1992-1997

Race or Ethnicity: White

Gender: Female

[Old Sarge]

I am willing to bet that EVERY complaint and gripe about the Patriot Act will end, once She Who Must Not Be Named is in the WH in 2009.

[skinkinthegrass]

,,,figures....'Toon appointee.

[live+let_live]

“searches of American citizens”

American citizens is the key phrase.

We have constitutional rights. Non citizens don’t.

[Perdogg]

American citizens...

What about foreigners?

[stylin19a]

you mean “if”, right ?

[bill1952]

ruling will not stand.

[LibLieSlayer]

The Appellate Court will order a stay until it can hear the case... it will be overturned again and another ‘toon hack will be shown to be ignorant of the Constitution. Seen it a too many times... and it is always a ‘toon appointee. They are always hard leftists!

LLS

[live+let_live]

“ruling will not stand.”

Why do you think that?

I can only think of one reason that might happen: During a time of war, the government doesn’t have to honor the Constitution. For example, Lincoln and the Civil War.

[LachlanMinnesota]

Is there a way to get a copy of the Court Order with the reasoning and actual ruling? The devil is in the details. If a citizen is searched, as opposed to a foreign national, a search warrant would need to be obtained absent exigent circumstances (which are few in number).

This does not appear to be a wire tap issue from the article, but a search warrant on the man’s house.

One must be careful to criticize the decision without knowing how the case came up. I may or may not agree with the outcome.

[tobyhill]

I’m unfamiliar with the part of the Patriot Act that allows US Citizens to be searched and surveillant without probable cause?

[Hexenhammer]

They had a partial print from the Madrid train bombing that came back is a possible match for terrorist defense attorney Brandon Mayfield. His house was searched. He was a suspect, but was amazingly not involved directly in the act itself. The print match was disproven upon further analysis.

[Jay777]

“This is wonderful news for our country,” said Elden Rosenthal, a Portland civil rights attorney who represented Mayfield along with Gerry Spence.

So....probably not good for our country. Still researching.

[Jay777]

Democratic Underground Celebrates!

[Jay777]

Daily KOS celebrates!

[tobyhill]

The case here really had nothing to do with probable cause because they had probable cause, a fingerprint. Bad information is nothing new in showing probable cause, that’s why there’s innocent.

[jimtorr]

Why do all the surprising rulings come from Ann Aiken?

She is the one who sentenced the Eco-Terrorists, right? I, for one, was surprised to see such severe sentences be imposed in Eugene.

[bennowens]

Stupid B*tch

[tobyhill]

Through all the generic talk over at DU and KOS no one has mentioned where the provision is in the patriot act that allowed search warrants on US citizens without probable cause.