Nathan C. Henderson Analysis

The primary concern of this paper is to establish the impact of the USA Patriot Act on local law enforcement and its potential for

In the years since the passing of the Patriot Act, there has been much controversy and debate regarding the positive and negative advantages, and consequences of this bill. As a member of the law enforcement community I have experienced firsthand some of the changes the Patriot Act has brought upon this nation. A result of this experience along with information obtained in the studying of this act and

Three essays have been studied on this subject, (U.S. Patriot Act – Damian Coles, and The Patriot Act: Wise beyond Its Years – John Ashcroft, and Cassady Pitt - U.S.

Being in the privacy of one’s home, gives you comfort, the means to say what you feel, or how you feel. What if someone was listening? Wouldn’t that be uncomfortable? Knowing everything said in one’s house is being heard, and the family inside of it has no clue. One’s house doesn’t seem so comfortable anymore does it? The U.S. Patriot Act violates many privacy and freedom rights given to you buy the bill of rights. The U.S. Patriot Act was written after 9/11 a tragic event in American history that eventually lead to the Afghanistan war. Although the Afghanistan war is over, the Act is still in place and has not been removed. The purpose of this essay is to inform the people of America that the U.S. Patriot Act rapes the nation of its rights.

The Patriot Act came into existence upon signing into law by the President George Bush. This Act of the Congress was meant to unite the Americans as they fight and intercept the different acts of terrorism (Doyle 2). Through the act, appropriate tools necessary for the execution of the mandates were provided. The act allows the empowered surveillance bodies to search for the different business records, rove through the wiretaps and carries out surveillance on the persons who are suspected to be terrorists or linked to terrorist-related activities. Owing to the powerful nature of the act, several issues have been raised concerning the validity and appropriateness of the act. Most of the issues raised point towards the morality aspect of the act. One issue of concern is privacy of individuals as far as the execution of Patriot Act is concerned (Doyle 2).

A. Thesis: The Patriot Act is violating American’s right to privacy. Mainly, the right to hold a private phone conversation.

After the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001, an American public was shocked, flabbergasted, and lost for words for the first time since Pearl Harbor. Out of these fears the PATRIOT act was conceived; promising to help stop future terrorist plots the bill was initially met with high praise from the public and media. It was not for another decade that the side-effects of the patriot act were revealed to the world. The American public was appalled at the circumvention of their fourth Amendment rights. Still there is a clear divide between those who believe that the National Security Agency Is not violating the constitution and what they are doing is good for the betterment of the country and those who believe that their privacy and undeniable American freedoms were violated in part of the NSA spying with both parties bringing their own views and ideals to the field. The September eleventh attacks were the beginning of the end of privacy for American citizens the PATRIOT act which was signed a month later granted full access to the phones and computers of the people. It took over a decade for the public to become aware of the illegal spying that the NSA had conducted. The NSA spying is a complicated and controversial matter while there have been several judicial courts that have ruled against the spying there has also been just as many cases of the court 's finding the spying constitutional.

The Patriot Act is lengthy and encompasses many issues but its primary purpose was to protect the American Public. I will focus this paper to how the surveillance aspect affects the First Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, and collection of Metadata.

Consequently, law enforcement officials have until passage of the Patriot Act have needed to present a reasonably strong case to a court in order to obtain a warrant to enter a private home or business, confiscate certain types of property, or eavesdrop electronically on private conversations and communications. An ACLU spokesperson maintains that the Act represents "an overnight revision of the nation's surveillance laws that vastly expanded the government's authority to spy on its own citizens, while simultaneously reducing checks and balances on those powers like judicial oversight, public accountability, and the ability to challenge government searches in court," (Surveillance, 2005, p. 3). From arrests without evidence to random search and seizure, the Act represents a potential danger to the rights and civil liberties of the American people much more than it helps as a practical tool in combating terrorism.

The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act, better known as the USA PATRIOT Act, or simply the PATRIOT Act was introduced on October 24, 2001, only 45 days after the devastating terrorists attacks of 9/11. It passed nearly unanimously, with only one person total in both the House or Representatives and the Senate voting against it. This law has many aspects, but perhaps the most controversial is the authorization of surveillance procedures, and the legitimacy of these provisions in regards to the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The following is an examination of the moral and homeland security implications this Act has on the American people and the

The Patriot Act demonstrates how much unnecessary supervision the government has on America. After America’s 9/11 incident, the Patriot Act was hastily passed in regard to “protect”

Spying on American citizens is now a common method employed by the government striving to protect the nation from terrorist attacks. Nonetheless, since its incorporation, the Act has been controversial as politicians and citizens alike have argued between the need to keep society safe and abusive powers of the government over its citizens. Although, mandated to serve as

In “How the NSA’s Domestic Spying Program Works,” the author reveals that many of “aspects of the (NSA) Program were aimed not just at targeted individuals, but perhaps millions of innocent Americans never suspected of a crime.” The author develops his thesis by detailing a few examples of major telecommunication companies that share customer’s call records to the NSA (AT&T, Sprint) and explaining that programs were implemented to monitor the emails of citizens (“amounted to at least 1.7 billion emails a day”). The author uses examples of how NSA decisions were made without a “warrant or any judicial oversight,” in order to increase citizen awareness of how the NSA functions. The author uses a erudite tone to address the audience of Americans

Post September 11, 2001, the United States learned that the Bush administration repeatedly authorized the NSA to monitor phones calls and electronic-mail (email) of people within the United States who were suspected of terrorist activities within the homeland. The monitoring activities were conducted without a warrant and in violation of the U.S. Constitution. The program became more of a topic after the September 11th attacks, and was part of a broad pattern of the executive branch using “national security” as an excuse for encroaching on the privacy rights of Americans with minimum to no oversight.

The Homeland Security Act of 2002 impacted the American people without many of them realizing it. The act called for increased monitoring of computer networks, phone lines, and online history inside the United States and allowed the government to deport suspects (ACLU). What was created by the act has snaked its way into all aspects of our lives, creating a sense of order and restricting some freedom. However, some say that this imposition into our daily lives limits our freedoms and actions allowed us by the Constitution. Many interest groups voice strong resentment for the act while others try to demonstrate the strengths and triumphs of the Homeland Security Act. This paper will show the differing viewpoints of those that feel that the