short version: a federal judge has ruled that elements of the patriot act (which amend FISA) are violations of the 4th amendment as they permit search warrants without probable cause. long version here.
commentary: although this arose from a lawsuit against the government, the settlement of that suit included the right to challenge the grounds for it (as detailed in the article). it’s pretty clear to me that judge aiken is absolutely correct and echoes criticisms made of the patriot act for several years now, criticisms that the bush administration has repeatedly and shamefully attempted to paint as unpatriotic.
there’s a highly interesting pair of quotations i’d like to cite from the article:
the article quoth:
US 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.”…
[snip]
… secret searches of his [the plaintiff’s] house and office under the foreign intelligence surveillance act, or FISA, violated the fourth amendment's guarantee that "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause ..."
this looks pretty darned straightforward to me. how about you?
ed
