USA Patriot Act Essay

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.

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

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

The Patriot Act was established after the tragedy of September, 11, 2001 in a moment of weakness. It gave unprecedented and unnecessary powers to intelligence agencies under the wide umbrella of national security. The Patriot Act has used an “us vs them” mentality as well as pro-American propaganda to accomplish its goals. This new authority of the intelligence agencies has gone too far, is unjustified, unconstitutional, and infringes on the privacy of the American people, as well as others in the world. The Patriot Act should be weakened in order to preserve the rights of the American people and to reaffirm to the world that the U.S will not tolerate violations of human rights.

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.

     Signed into law by the President on October 26, the Patriot Act is designed to fight terrorism on several fronts. First, it gives the U.S. government authority to hold foreigners suspected of terrorist activity for up to seven days before charging them with a crime. The legislation also gives investigators the legal right to tap any phone a suspected terrorist might use.

The Patriot Act allows the United States to use surveillance and wiretaps to keep its country safe from terrorists and other radical groups. This impacts our lives everyday whether we know it or not, by such as a one

Several acts severely infringe the civil liberties of Americans; for example, Title II of the act provides for enhanced surveillance procedures. Authority to intercept wire, oral, and electronic communications became expanded if these communications might be related to terrorism or computer fraud. There are 25 separate sections providing significant new authority for the government to monitor mail, e-mail, voice mail, and telephone and computer communications. Search warrants will be easier to obtain, and they will be broader in scope. Warrants will be valid for longer periods. The FBI can ask for a warrant requiring any tangible items which can include books, papers, records, documents, etc…(the warrant may be non-specific in nature). This is a direct violation of the Fourth Amendment rights of search and seizure.

The United States government changed the face of computer and internet use when it signed the USA Patriot Act on October 26, 2001. This act was created in the wake of the terrorist attacks in New York City on September 11 that same year. Many people believe that this act is a good thing and will help in defense against any future attacks. What most people do not know, however, is the effect of this act on the more general public. This includes individual people, public libraries, colleges and universities, and even trucking or hauling companies.

To a vast majority of Americans, there exists the belief that the Patriot Act violates their right to privacy, and does little to ensure national security. However, this was not the intention of the Bush Administration, who passed this law. One week after September 11, 2001, the Patriot Act, a law that was meant to strengthen national security, was signed by the Bush Administration to ensure that no terrorist attack would ever harm the lives of more Americans. The Patriot Act gave federal law enforcement agencies what they needed to mount an effective and coordinated plan to stop United States Terrorism. The officials were given the right to carry out surveillance over the internet, phone conversations, and public records. Therefore, this

Law enforcement utilizes the Patriot Act through enhance surveillance techniques and search warrant opportunities all of which are approved by the court system but not exactly “monitored.” Judges and magistrates within the court system deny bond, incarcerate, and hold hearings concerning liberties and collateral violations in the name of fighting terrorism. An excellent example of

There are several key rights and freedoms in the US Constitution that have been eroded due to the Patriot Act. The first example of a key right would be college student AJ Brown in North Carolina, he was interrogated without probable clause, because he was engaging in political speech. He had made posters expressing opposition to the death penalty in Texas. This was a violation of his First Amendment right, which gives him Freedom

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