The Patriot Act A Condensed Version Of The Framework

Congress ushered in the Patriot Act by arming law enforcement with new tools to detect and prevent terrorism by expanding federal officials’ powers to keep tabs on our personal information, from credit card use to cell phone calls to car travel. It allows investigators to use the tools that were

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.

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.

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

In this paper I will discuss and explain the patriot act. I will also explain and discuss the provisions of the Act and the rationale behind each major component. Finally I will give my thoughts and views on the Patriot Act and talk about if I think this act is necessary to keep the United States safe and limit terrorist attacks.

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.

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

In the mist of America ending its wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan here in the homeland we are still be proactive in trying to alleviate terrorist threats and opportunities for terroristic activity in our backyards. When looking at the USA PATRIOT ACT that was enacted to help battle this ongoing pandemic it has come into question whether the laws of the USA PATRIOT ACT extremely broad, narrow, and overarching that they leave too much room for interpretation which in the end has led to violations of a person’s rights that they are guaranteed by the US Constitution.

When the Patriot Act was passed, there was a public backlash against its constitutionality. In order to protect the nation from future terrorist attacks, the Patriot act 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”. This brought up a lot of controversy within lawmakers, as the enactment of this law would give the FBI the right to violate the Fourth Amendment.

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

Often our nation sees as a symbol of freedom to the world; however, since the events of 9/11 the U.S congress signed into law the U.S Patriot Act. This legislation extends the power of the government by strengthening its oversight authority over the nation, claiming protection of the national security against potential foreign threats. As an American citizen, I agree with some of the terms and measures adopted under the Patriot Act in which the government needs to intercept, obstruct, and monitor terrorism actions keeping us safe from potential attacks without violating any of our civil rights. However, the act fails to secure American liberties, facilitating and encourages the government to become authoritarian with the pretext idea of national security purpose, exposing millions of Americans lives to serious and potential abuses of corruptions, fraud and discrimination by taking away our freedoms and liberty rights guarantee by the U.S Constitution, assuming that giving politicians authoritarian powers will make America a safer place to live. On the Other hand as a Law abiding citizen I’m not willing to sacrifice and been taking away my constitutional rights in exchange for national security purpose, because if we continue like that, we would be further away from an ideal democracy society, losing confidence and support to our government system that eliminates the American ideal of check and balance power for their own ends.

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

The Patriot Act, an act passed by Congress in 2001 that addressed the topic of privacy in terrorist or radical situations, is controversial in today's society. Although it helps with protection against terroristic events, The Patriot Act is not fair, nor is it constitutional, because it allows the government to intrude on citizens' privacy, it gives governmental individuals too much power, and because the act is invasive to the 4th amendment right. To further describe key points in the act, it states that it allows investigators to use the tools that were already available to investigate organized crime and drug trafficking, and it allows law enforcement officials to obtain a search warrant anywhere a terrorist-related activity occurred.

Following the days after the September 11th terrorist attacks, forty-five days to be exact, congress passed the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act stands for the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism. The Patriot Act was enacted in response to the attacks of the September 11th with the intentions of terminating international terrorist operating within American. Thought the Patriot Act stands for protecting America and its citizens it also has many provisions that violate the US constitution. Firstly the Patriot Act encroaches on our First Amendment rights, which allow the citizens of America to speak and express ourselves freely. Secondly it violates the fourth Amendment rights, which protects American citizens against unwanted searches and seizures. The Patriot Act not only violates the Constitution, but represents the loss of our individual liberties as American citizens. The Patriot Act violates our freedom of speech and expression stated in the first Amendment and the protection from searches and seizures given to us by the fourth Amendment.

The power of the courts has been expanded since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Since the assault we have seen many new laws, policies and acts come into effect, as well as the development of new agencies. This paper will evaluate at how federal courts have evolved since 9/11, how the Patriot Act has played a part in the growth of all laws on the local level, and how the FISA Act effects fight against terrorism.