Jus 104
08/28/2014
David Hayes
Patriot Act
“The Patriot Act (the full name is the USA Patriot Act, or Uniting and Strengthening America Act by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001" (Bush2001) was put in place by the U.S. Congress in response to September 11. The Patriot Act was put into action on October 26, 2001, at the request of President George Bush. The Justice Department now has abilities in terms of domestic as well as international tailing of not only American citizens but anyone within its jurisdiction due to the act. The Patriot Act, allows a wide range of new powers to law enforcement and intelligence gathering authorities. “The Constitution defines the underlying …show more content…
Constitution. A good example would be, this act allows law enforcement agencies to secretly examine homes and business records. The act allows wiretapping and surveillance power, and it makes a new mechanism for attaining legal search warrants and partaking in electronic snooping of email, telephone calls, and internet messaging. The Patriot Act, ordered people to hand over business records and are not allowed communicate with an attorney or pursue protection from the courts. The requirements are not clearly stated, giving practically complete freedom to federal officials to use the act and then have confidence that the courts will support the validity of what was …show more content…
The Patriot Act detriments our political freedoms on behalf of national security and hurts the values that distinguish our nation. The act consolidates numerous fresh powers in the executive branch of government. The most vital feature of the Patriot Act is a new, in-depth meaning of terrorism. “Section 802 states that a person engages in domestic terrorism if they do any act dangerous to human life that is a violation of the criminal laws of a state or the United States, if that action appears to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping.””(The Patriot Act Helps Keep America Safe. 9 June 2005.)” The acts must take place above all within the national jurisdiction of the United