Patriot Fixes (reform the Patriot Act), by Bob Barr

Wall Street Journal ^ | November 12, 2004 | BOB BARR

[OESY]

...Critics of the Act are not calling for full repeal. Only about a dozen of the 150 provisions need to be reformed....

The two most significant problems are sections 213 and 215. The first authorized the use of delayed-notification search warrants.... The Justice Department often claims that this new statutory "sneak and peek" power is innocuous, because the use of such warrants was commonplace before. Actually, the Patriot Act's sneak and peek authority... was available in terrorism investigations. Courts, however, put specific checks on these warrants: They could only be authorized when notice would threaten life or safety (including witness intimidation), endanger evidence, or incite flight from prosecution. It was a limited and extraordinary power.

The Patriot Act greatly expanded potential justifications for [delayed-notification]. The criminal code now allows secret search warrants whenever notice would "jeopardize" an investigation or "delay" a trial -- extremely broad rationales. The exception has become the rule. Congress should remove that catch-all justification and impose strict monitoring on the use of these secret warrants.

The other primary problem is the "library records" provision, Section 215. This amended a minor section of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which created a specialized court for the review of spy-hunting surveillance and search requests. This "business records" section allowed agents to seize personal records held by certain types of third-parties, including common carriers and vehicle rental companies. The Patriot Act made two changes to this relatively limited power: It allowed the seizure of any "tangible thing" from any third-party record holder (including medical, library, travel and genetic records); and it removed the particularized suspicion required in the original statute.

Pre-2001....

Reformers on the left and right want two fixes to this section. First, reinstall the individualized suspicion requirement.... Second, Congress should require additional reporting requirements....

[OESY]

Mr. Barr is a former Republican congressman.

[bayourod]

Never trust anyone except your mother.

[Reagan Man]

Patriot Act = terror attack free zone in homeland America

[elizabetty]

Bob Barr should be fixed. I thought we did that when we voted him out of office but I guess not.

[MikeA]

Go back to getting abortions for your wife Bob, you mental case freak. I'm sorry I ever defended this lunatic.

[Drammach]

I heard Judge Nepalitano (sp?) on FOX yesterday talking about the same thing..
He was saying that feds were "writing their own warrants" under the patriot act, and though it was originally meant to be used for terrorism investigations, it was now being used for lesser, criminal investigations..

The same rationales were used with the RICO act to confiscate funds from "Drug Dealers"..
At first it was just the big guys down Miami way, where millions of dollars were involved..
Eventually, it was kansas farmers with a few "wild" marijuana plants on the back 40 acres, and the cars of girlfreinds and boyfreinds of people busted with pot.

Did you know that the feds are entitled to a warrantless entry of your home if they see someone they "suspect" is a drug user/dealer enter your home?
All you need is a visit from someone you barely know to end up with your door kicked in and a gun stuck in your child's face..

The constitution, bill of rights and the rule of law should not be considered an "inconvenience" when it comes to law enforcement and the justice department..
They should be the first to uphold the law and it's spirit.. not abuse it..

[Southack]

http://fly.hiwaay.net/~pspoole/fiscshort.html

One problem with the know-nothings who bash the Patriot Act is that they are ignorant of the FISA Court established under President Carter.

The FISA Court would exist, and the same potential for abuse remain, even if the entire Patriot Act was repealed and we went back to the days of the Gorelick Wall where the FBI couldn't talk to the CIA.

But the stealth *liberals* who bash the Patriot Act don't care about Carter's FISA Court...what they care about is bashing President Bush by any available means.

So they tilt away at the Patriot Act windmill, ignoring the real FISA Monster in their own back yard.

[mrsmith]

I can't read the whole article but what you posted sounds like reasonable debate.
I think that 'catch all' phrase for delaying warrant notice could be removed.

However there is still a long way to go to a reasonable debate on amending the Patriot act.

Right now there is a bill in the senate, S. 1552 (sometimes referred to as a bill with "Patriot Fixes") , that would exempt internet use at libraries from FISA warrants.
Providing a "safe harbor" for terrorist's, or any foreign agent's, communications!

Even worse it would reinstate Jamie Gorelick's 'wall' between criminal and FISA investigations- which is universally acknowledged to have contributed to preventing the discovery of the 9/11 plot!

[eno_]

Yeah right. That and the TSA.

[eno_]

I don't think anyone here has left FISA out of their criticisms. No are we buying Viet Dhin's line that because we had our freedom taken away bit by bit over the years we should not mind the government picking up the pace now.

[eno_]

which is universally acknowledged to have contributed to preventing the discovery of the 9/11 plot!

That leaves out the fact that most of the 9/11 hijackers were here on expired, fraudulent, or wrongly approved visas. We could have kept them out AND kept our rights. Now we are being asked to give up rights to make up for our government's incompetence. No thanks!

[Southack]

"I don't think anyone here has left FISA out of their criticisms."

Who here has criticized Carter and FISA?

Show me the post numbers.

[Southack]

"That leaves out the fact that most of the 9/11 hijackers were here on expired, fraudulent, or wrongly approved visas."

Visa expirations are irrelevant. Visas have a time window; during that window you get to go to a certain country.

If you do not go to that country in that time window, then it matters when the visa expires.

But only then.

However, if you go to a country during that time window, it no longer matters when that visa time window expires.

The common myth of visa time windows is that you have to go visit and then *leave* before a visa expires.

But that's incorrect. Visa time windows do not impact when you have to leave this country. Visa time windows only impact when you are allowed to first enter this country.

Once in, you are still legal even when that visa time window expires.

[eno_]

Visas are also good only for a limited time AFTER admission. Tourist and student visas are pretty short-lived.

Some of these guys were on watch lists. Some had law-enforcement contact while they were here illegally. They should not have been here. Others should never have been granted visas.

[Southack]

"Visas are also good only for a limited time AFTER admission."

Source?