Appeals court hears two secrecy cases involving the Patriot Act

[struggle4progress]

By Larry Neumeister
ASSOCIATED PRESS
3:42 a.m. November 3, 2005

NEW YORK – A federal appeals panel has suggested it might require the government to permit libraries, major corporations and other groups to challenge FBI demands for records under the Patriot Act. <snip>

The court was hearing appeals by the government of rulings in separate cases in New York and Connecticut.

In Connecticut, a federal judge ruled that librarians were unfairly prevented from joining a debate over how the Patriot Act should be rewritten because of a gag order issued in an FBI records request about patrons. <snip>

In the New York case, a federal judge had ruled that national security letters violate the Constitution because they amount to unreasonable search and seizure. <snip>

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20051103-0342-patriotact-records.html

[firefox]

1. And why has it taken 4 years to get to this point?

This affects how many libraries and 300 million people lives and rights and it takes 4 years to get to this point when the US has "the best legal system in the world." Save us all the trouble and send it to the Supreme Court and let them rubberstamp it for the fascists.