War and the Limitations of Civil Liberties – Object #5

The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001

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The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001

<p>The Patriot Act of 2001 was passed following the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center.</p>

The Patriot Act of 2001 was passed following the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center.

Transcript

SEC. 213. AUTHORITY FOR DELAYING NOTICE OF THE EXECUTION OF A WARRANT. Section 3103a of title 18, United States Code, is amended— (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before ‘‘In addition’’; and (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘(b) DELAY.—With respect to the issuance of any warrant or court order under this section, or any other rule of law, to search for and seize any property or material that constitutes evidence of a criminal offense in violation of the laws of the United States, any notice required, or that may be required, to be given may be delayed if— ‘‘(1) the court finds reasonable cause to believe that providing immediate notification of the execution of the warrant may have an adverse result (as defined in section 2705); ‘‘(2) the warrant prohibits the seizure of any tangible property, any wire or electronic communication (as defined in section 2510), or, except as expressly provided in chapter 121, any stored wire or electronic information, except where the court finds reasonable necessity for the seizure; and ‘‘(3) the warrant provides for the giving of such notice within a reasonable period of its execution, which period may thereafter be extended by the court for good cause shown.’’.
SEC 215. ACCESS TO RECORDS AND OTHER ITEMS UNDER THE FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE ACT. Title V of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1861 et seq.) is amended by striking sections 501 through 503 and inserting the following: ‘‘SEC. 501. ACCESS TO CERTAIN BUSINESS RECORDS FOR FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE AND INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM INVESTIGATIONS. ‘‘(a)(1) The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation or a designee of the Director (whose rank shall be no lower than Assistant Special Agent in Charge) may make an application for an order requiring the production of any tangible things (including books, records, papers, documents, and other items) for an investigation to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities, provided that such investigation of a United States person is not conducted solely upon the basis of activities protected by the first amendment to the Constitution. ‘‘(2) An investigation conducted under this section shall— ‘‘(A) be conducted under guidelines approved by the Attorney General under Executive Order 12333 (or a successor order); and ‘‘(B) not be conducted of a United States person solely upon the basis of activities protected by the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

Questions:

What civil liberties did the Patriot Act of 2001 affect?

What event caused the Patriot Act of 2001 to be written?

Who would have supported the passing of this act? Why? Who might have opposed it? Why?

Citations

107th U.S. Congress, “Uniting And Strengthening America By Providing Appropriate Tools Required To Intercept And Obstruct Terrorism (Usa Patriot Act) Act Of 2001” October 26, 2001. p.15-18 https://www.sec.gov/about/offices/ocie/aml/patriotact2001.pdf