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Part of Patriot Act Ruled Unconstitutional

Posted by simoniker on from the much-controversy dept.

Adam9 writes "According to Yahoo/AP, a federal judge has declared unconstitutional a portion of the USA Patriot Act that bars giving expert advice or assistance to groups designated foreign terrorist organizations. The ruling marks the first court decision to declare a part of the post-Sept. 11 anti-terrorism statute unconstitutional, said David Cole, a Georgetown University law professor who argued the case on behalf of the Humanitarian Law Project."

3 of 661 comments (clear)

  1. EFF Patriot Act Analysis by Eyah....TIMMY · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Electronic Frontier Foundation made a very good speech last year at DefCon about the dangers of the Patriot Act.
    They have an analysis on their site about the Patriot Act and what it means for us.
    Here's also another article about why we should be concerned about it.

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    It is not enough to have a good mind. The main thing is to use it well. - Rene Descartes (1637)
  2. NOT the USSC! by DAldredge · · Score: 5, Informative

    It wasn't the USSC, it was a Federal District judge.

  3. Read the Ruling carefully? by Tarwn · · Score: 5, Informative

    I read through the article and it seems like the judge is asking for it to be reworded rather than stricken, and the piece in quesiton is only the expert advice portion, not the pre-existing portion concerning materials/resources.

    So while the people who are jumping up and down for joy about pieces being over-ruled may have to wait for a while, I'm personally happy that we are looking at suggested corrections. I don't by any means think the patriot act is perfect, but I much prefer people trying to improve on it rather than just throw it aay all together.

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    Whee signature.