Preview

Constitutional Right to Privacy and the Us Patriot Act

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
4864 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Constitutional Right to Privacy and the Us Patriot Act
Privacy Essay

Privacy. What do you think the average American would say if you told them they have no Constitutional Right to Privacy, as privacy is never mentioned anywhere in the Constitution? That the information they share over the World Wide Web has little if any protection by or from the government. Of course our government is hard at work to modernize the form of weeding out the unsanitary to which some cenacles might call censorship. But the main question still stands, do we have a right to privacy and is the government violating our natural freedoms, or do we need someone to monitor the actions of our society to keep order. The question is as old as government; to what extent should the government influence our lives. When you get down to it, privacy is the protection from influence, privacy is freedom, and in the following argument, influence will be wielded as a powerful epitome. Freedom. To have the ultimate freedom is what many past and modern philosophers call the State of Nature. In this state we are completely alone, and therefore have the will to do as we please, in a sense the ultimate freedom. Under this freedom John Locke says we have three unalienable rights that cannot be taken away by a just man, these include life, liberty, and property. Life is of coarse our ability to survive, and in the State of Nature survival is base upon our own will. Liberty is our ability to make decisions for ourselves, and when living unopposed by any other cognizant being, we live
Domich 2 for ourselves only, this being our only motive. Property is more of a metaphorical right; property stands for basically our right to distribute the fruits of our labor as we please. As an example, imagine that a farmer exists out in the woods alone and farms and cultivates his crop; as a right, he has the power to do with as he wishes the fruits of his labor, this is the right to property. Thomas Jefferson, the primary writer of the Declaration of Independence, later



Cited: Doyle, Charles. CRS Report for Congress- V. 15 Apr. 2002. CRS. 28 May 2004 . EFF Analysis Of The Provisions Of The USA PATRIOT Act Engels, Friedrich, Martin Malia, and Karl Mark. The Communist Manifesto. New York: Signet Classic, 1998. Federal Register / Vol Fineberg, Gail, and Audrey Fischer. FLICC Newsletter. Ed. Mitchell Harrison, and Robin Hatziyannis. 2002. Federal Libraries and Information Centers. 28 May 2004 . Griswold v Hamilton, Alexander. "Federalist 78." American Government. Comp. Peter Woll. New York: Longman, 2002. 418-422. Legal Information Institute Locke, John. "Second Treatise of Civil Government." American Government. Comp. Peter Woll. New York: Longman, 2002. 4-9. Madison, James Mill, John S. "Liberty of Thought and Discussion." American Government. Comp. Peter Woll. New York: Longman, 2002. 98-103. Naitonal Archives and Records Administration v OLMSTEAD v. U.S.. Supreme Ct. 1928. 28 May 2004 . OMB and GSA Work to Increase Internet Security for Citizens Plato.The Republic. London: Penguin Classics, 2003. Privacy? Paradice Lost! 28 May 2004 "Right of Privacy: access to personal information." Legal Information Institute. 20 Apr. 2004 . "Right of Publicity: and overview." Legal Information Institute "Right to Privacy: an overview." Legal Information Institute. 15 Apr. 2004 . Roe v Union Pacific Railway Company v. Clara L. BOTSFORD. Supreme Ct. 1891. 28 May 2004 . United States of America US Dept of Justice v. Reporters Committee. Find Law United States Ct. of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit 1989. 15 Apr. 2004 .

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Alice A. Fox. A 2000 U.S. District Court case, originating in the Southern District of New York, located at volume 93 and starting on page 531. (This is the second series of the relevant resource).…

    • 442 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    (UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,v.Jerry Alfred WHITWORTH, Defendant-Appellant.,…

    • 2825 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    His/301

    • 2937 Words
    • 12 Pages

    Tuckness, Alex, "Locke 's Political Philosophy", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2012 Edition), Edward N…

    • 2937 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    John Locke wanted everyone to have the "right to life, liberty, and property" which is used in the Declaration of Independence as the "right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." His ideas of the social contract, in which everyone in a society is accountable to one another, and the idea of governments deriving their power from the consent of the governed were both revolutionary concepts in 1776 that made their way into the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.…

    • 132 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Also Locke thought that people share the same natural rights, which are life, liberty, property. Life is referred to people fighting to survive. Liberty means that people want to be as free as possible to make their own decisions. Property represents the fact that people want to own things that help them survive, such as land and food and tools.…

    • 281 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Best Essays

    In the aftermath of September 11, Congress was eager to put laws on the books to prevent another attack. In an unprecedented spirit of bipartisan patriotism, a law was passed in the House by 357 to 66 (Clerk of the House) and in the Senate by 98 to 1 (Secretary of the Senate). The title of the act, USA PATRIOT Act, is an acronym for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism. Since its historic passage there has been much debate on the constitutionality of the act. Some would claim the Legislative and Executive branches acted opportunistically and enacted a law that infringes on the rights of Americans. This paper, for sake of brevity, focuses on Section 213 of the Patriot Act, the “sneak and peak” section. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the arguments on both sides of the issues and determine whether or not Section 213 of the USA PATRIOT Act is indeed unconstitutional. This paper examines the history of the Patriot Act, evaluates recent litigation concerning this act, and considers precedents that would give or withhold from Congress the authority to enact such a law.…

    • 2253 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    US Constitution 1

    • 1535 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The city court then issued an order to the two men, telling them to stop publishing their newspaper. • There was a local trial. The two men and their lawyer argued that the order was a legal violation of their First Amendment right to freedom of speech and freedom of the press. • The men appealed for a different decision. The trial was moved to a higher court, until it reached the Supreme Court.…

    • 1535 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Usa Patriot Act

    • 3513 Words
    • 15 Pages

    Hamilton, S. (2011, 8 28). How The Patriot Act Violates Virtually The Entire Bill of Rights (How Many Congressmen Have Introduced Bills to Repeal This Unconstitutional Horror? -ed). Retrieved from rense.com/general94/patr.htm…

    • 3513 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    “When it comes to privacy and accountability, people always demand the former for themselves and the latter for everyone else.” By definition privacy is the state or condition of being free from being observed or disturbed by other people. What separates us from individuals in other countries is the rulebook we follow-namely the constitution. Collectively (government and citizens) agree to follow the rules (according to the constitution), but sometimes the rules must be stretched or broken. The government should violate a civil liberty provided by the constitution when it is for the safety of the country.…

    • 466 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Revolutionary War

    • 1587 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Wilson, J., Dilulio, Jr., J., & Bose, M. (2011). The Problem of Liberty. The Essentials of American Government, Institutions and Policies. 12th Edition. p 20.…

    • 1587 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Best Essays

    Lamm, Carolyn. "Our Constitution, Debate it, Discuss it, Understand it." ABAnow. N.p., 16 Sept. 2009. Web. 27 Oct. 2009. .…

    • 3196 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Better Essays

    * Individual Privacy vs. National Security. Anti Essays. Retrieved June 10, 2012, from the World Wide Web: http://www.antiessays.com/free-essays/212848.html…

    • 2844 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Another important ideal found in the declaration of independence is life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, which means we all have natural rights that can’t be taken away from us.we should be able to live life the way we want, own and maintain a property, and try to reach our happiness without anyone trying to own us like toys. The ideal life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness is important to american society because we want to live to try to pursue happiness without anyone telling us how to get it.…

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Separation of Powers

    • 1616 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Elliott, Mark, and Robert Thomas. "The Constitution – Institutions and Principles." Public law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. p98.…

    • 1616 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    14th Amendment

    • 9110 Words
    • 37 Pages

    Andrus v. Allard, 444 U.S. 51 (1979)…………………………………………………………………… 18 Armstrong v. Manzo, 380 U.S. 545,(1965)…………………………………………………. 7, 8…

    • 9110 Words
    • 37 Pages
    Powerful Essays