Fergie's Tech Blog

Shocker: Bush Administration Appeals Patriot Act Ruling

David Kravets writes on Threat Level:

The Bush administration on Friday appealed a federal court decision [Ferg: again?] declaring as unconstitutional a central provision of the Patriot Act, which Congress quickly adopted after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

At issue is a September ruling by an Oregon judge who said the Patriot Act gave too much power to the government when it came to snooping on suspected criminals in the United States -- a violation of constitutional search-and-seizure rules.

The administration is asking the San Francisco-based, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken. The judge ruled that the Patriot Act made it too easy for the government to secure warrants against criminal suspects from a secret court designed to help the authorities monitor and gather intelligence on terror suspects.

posted by Fergie @ 2/08/2008 09:17:00 PM