Patriot Act Unconstitutional

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 devastated the United States people. As they mourned over the deaths caused by the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York City, Americans began looking for a way to prevent anything like this from happening again. Consequently, an act known as the USA PATRIOT act was passed by Congress. This act opened up many doors previously closed to law enforcement and intelligence agencies. With these new opportunities available to them, they have the capability to obtain information about specific individuals believed to be involved in terrorist activities and organizations. Very beneficial to the United States, the Patriot Act provides easier access for different government law enforcement agencies to share information, allows government agencies investigative tools that non-terrorist crimes already use, and helps to dismantle the terrorist financial network. Although many people claim that the Patriot Act violates the United States Constitution and the freedoms of the American people, it contains many elaborate safeguards to fight against such abuse.

The USA Patriot Act grants government agencies powers in terrorism investigations that it already uses in non-terrorist crimes. Several law abiding citizens have been approached, questioned, and interrogated without probable cause of any criminal activity, basically for engaging in political speech protected by the constitution (Bailie, 2012). The Act freely eliminates privacy rights for individual Americans, it creates more secrecy for government activities, which make it extremely difficult to know about actions the Government are taking.

With good intentions, the Patriot Act allows the government to pry into Americans' lives through computer and phone records as well as credit and banking history (Source 5). This oversteps the U.S. Constitution as the First and Fourth Amendment were created to give citizens freedom and the right to deny search and seizure

Although not every aspect of The USA PATRIOT ACT is radical, section 215 in The USA PATRIOT Act is one of the more critically addressed problems of this already controversial piece of legislation. Probably because most sane individuals would not like the government walking into a library or book store and ask for a list of anyone who purchased a book that may or not be considered radical enough to be flagged as possible terrorist activity. Summarized best by Dahlia Lithwick, “Section 215 modifies the rules on records searches. Post-Patriot Act, third-party holders of your financial, library, travel, video rental, phone, medical, church, synagogue, and mosque records can be searched without your knowledge or consent, providing the government says it's trying to protect against terrorism.” (Lithwick part 1) This raises concern that the government may cry wolf (terrorism) to circumvent the Bill of Rights for any investigation it so desired. John Ashcroft, as quoted by an unnamed CNN writer, said "If we ever make an inquiry about any kind of record or business record, it has the judicial supervision, so that a federal judge would look carefully and simply not allow it if it were not a part of a case that merited the involvement of the authorities." (CNN 1) It would seem that the term privacy never evolved alongside technology, allowing even greater

After the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001 the United States became a very different place. This drastic change was caused by the initial emotional reactions that American citizens, as well as government leaders had towards the tragic event. The government, in an effort to assure that these events never happen again passed the USA PATRIOT Act, which is an acronym that stands for the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act. The major goal of this act is to combat terrorism by giving the government more leeway in what areas they are allowed to use their surveillance tools and also to what circumstances these tools can be used. The major issue that arise with this act are the fact that many of the act can be seen as unconstitutional.

After the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, a controversial piece of legislation was adopted and passed called the U.S.A. Patriot Act. The title for this bill is an acronym for "the United and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act" (USA Patriot Act).

Is the Patriot Act Unconstitutional? The Patriot Act was introduced in 2001 after the September 11 attacks. The Patriot Acts purpose is to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world. The Patriot Act Is meant to help stop terrorism by making it easier to get search warrants for suspected terrorists. The purpose of the Patriot Act is to enable law enforcement officials to track down and punish those responsible for the attacks on 9/11 and to protect against any similar attacks. The Act grants the government the powers to trace and intercept terrorist communications both for law enforcement and intelligence purposes. This means that the government can use wire taps, monitor email traffic, confiscate

The NSA is an unconstitutional Federal government agency established by a failed president. In 1952, the worst president in U.S. History, President Truman, established the National Security Agency (NSA). Truman is known for committing the worst crime against humanity by using a nuclear bomb on the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, as well as for losing China and North Korea. For a president that is known for his poor performance on foreign policy, Truman establishes the NSA to safeguard American interests from foreign and domestic threat to American National Security.

After reading Chapter 3 in our book and reviewing the US Constitution from my Introduction to Government class I have come to the conclusion that the US Patriot act is a very controversial document. There are arguments both for and against the Document. However, I take the position against the document at this time.

The Patriot Act was signed into law on October 26, 2001 by President George W. Bush. The act expanded the surveillance capability of both domestic law enforcement and international intelligence agencies. When this law was passed it was under the assumption “to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes” (The USA Patriot). The Patriot Act has given the government the power to spy on the average American through monitoring phone records and calls, gaining banking and credit information, and even track a person’s internet activity. This is an unbelievable amount of power intelligence agencies wield all under the umbrella of national security. This power has gone too far, is unjustified, unconstitutional, and infringes on the privacy of the

The USA PATRIOT Act was a piece of legislation that was signed into law to address the realities of modern terrorism. The new breed of terrorism was sophisticated and used new technologies that, according to the President, “were not available at the time that the existing laws were written”, he said in his speech during the bill signing press event on October 26. 2001; a fair argument. He said “The bill before me takes account of the new realities and dangers posed by modern terrorists” and the Patriot Act was “an essential step in defeating terrorism while protecting the constitutional rights of all Americans”. But how does the Patriot Act do that? How does it protect the constitutional rights of Americans? How does it help defeat

Opening, The Patriot Act provides an easy excuse for governmental individuals to intrude on citizens' privacy. As "The USA PATRIOT Act: Preserving Life and Liberty," expresses, "Examining business records often provides the key that investigators are looking for to solve a wide range of crimes. Investigators might seek select records from hardware stores or chemical plants, for example, to find out who bought materials to make a bomb, or bank records to see who's sending money to terrorists. Law enforcement authorities have always been able to obtain business records in criminal cases through grand jury subpoenas, and continue to do so in national security cases where appropriate." The previous excerpt justifies the claim that the act is a

It is better to have civil liberties and a right to privacy than for the government to do whatever they deem necessary to prevent another terrorist attack. First off, the legality of the Patriot act is questionable, several articles had tried to nullify preexisting laws. Before law enforcement can fully begin investigating people or places, they must acquire a search warrant. This law is from Amendment 4 in the Bill of Rights and helps protect citizens from any unjustified searches; however, acquiring a search warrant takes time and is the reason why the Patriot Act tries to get away with working around it. An instance of this occurred in 2002, when George Bush authorized the NSA to monitor phone calls and e-mails of thousands of Americans,

Based on the information in the article, and what I know about the Patriot Act. I believe my rights have been imposed upon by the FBI, but I also believe they are trying to protect the Amercian citizens. The Patriot Act, which is an act of Congress, was signed into law by President George W. Bush this law was intended to halt terrorism and preserve life and liberty. This act was passed after the 9/11 incident. As with any bills or laws passed there are some glitches. Many Americans citizens and critics argue that the patriot act was passed before being introduced to the people. Most provisions of this act are considered invalid or unenforceable by its terms. Some optimist in major cities and communities are criticizing the patriot act as an

Finally, security loses its worth if not accompanied by rights. Benjamin Franklin states that "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither liberty or safety" Without Liberty, Security is purposeless. The entire purpose of national security is to protect the American way of life and what our nation