ACLU:Patriot Act, free speech clash

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Source: Associated Press

Congress does not have the power to demand silence from people forced to turn over electronic communications such as Internet records used to investigate terrorism, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer argued Wednesday.

During oral arguments in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, ACLU lawyer Jameel Jaffer told Judge Victor Marrero he must strike down a part of the USA Patriot Act that lets the FBI request records without the kind of court order required of other government searches.

"It doesn't allow for meaningful judicial review," Jaffer said of the so-called national security letters, or NSLs, investigative tools used by the FBI to compel businesses to turn over customer information without a judge's order or grand jury subpoena.

The law also disregards First Amendment rights by permitting law enforcement to ban those who receive the letters from talking about them publicly, he said.

Read more: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/08/15/aclu_patriot_act_free_speech_clash/

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Security gag orders unconstitutional: ACLU
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070816/pl_nm/security_fbi_gag_dc_1

[L. Coyote]

1. ACLU: USA PATRIOT Act flawed provisions are set to expire at the end of the year.

USA PATRIOT Act (11/14/2003)
http://www.aclu.org/safefree/resources/17343res20031114.html

Reform the Patriot Act, rtpa.org
Just 45 days after the September 11 attacks, with virtually no debate, Congress passed the USA PATRIOT Act. There are significant flaws in the Patriot Act, flaws that threaten your fundamental freedoms by giving the government the power to access to your medical records, tax records, information about the books you buy or borrow without probable cause, and the power to break into your home and conduct secret searches without telling you for weeks, months, or indefinitely.

Some of these flawed provisions are set to expire at the end of the year. But President Bush wants to make them permanent, and the House and Senate have been holding hearings in preparation for votes that are expected in June and July.

Learn more about the flawed provisions in this legislation using the resources below. Find out how you can get involved, and help urge Congress to bring the Patriot Act in line with the Constitution.

SUMMARIES AND ANALYSIS
> Summary of the USA PATRIOT Act and Other Government Acts
> Text of the USA PATRIOT Act
> ACLU Fact Sheet on Surveillance under the USA PATRIOT Act
> ACLU Fact Sheet on Section 215: How the Patriot Act Threatens Your Personal Records
> ACLU Fact Sheet on "PATRIOT II"
> How "PATRIOT Act II," The Domestic Security Enhancement Act, Would Further Erode the Basic Checks on Government Power
> Section-by-Section Analysis of "PATRIOT II"
> Additional Analyses of How PATRIOT Powers Threaten Liberty and Privacy