...The Patriot Act: A Constitutional Analysis Andrew Mills University of Memphis Abstract “The USA Patriot Act, enacted seven weeks after the September 11 attacks, granted the federal government sweeping new powers to expand surveillance, curtail financing, and deport aliens in connection with terrorist activity” (Stanford, 2003). This quote embodies the reasons for the heated controversy surrounding the Patriot Act. Whether one discusses the brief period of time leading up to the signing of the Patriot Act or the numerous provisions that resulted from the passing of this bill, individuals will likely have clashing viewpoints. The vast majority of the controversies surrounding the act involves whether or not it falls in line with the U.S. Constitution. Opponents of the act argue that it should have never passed through Congress due to its unconstitutionality. Those who support the Patriot Act often use its success in fighting terrorist threats as a reason to maintain it. After analyzing the bill and its provisions, its successes were made apparent, as well as its unconstitutionality. The Patriot Act: A Constitutional Analysis The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act, commonly known as the USA Patriot Act (USAPA), was signed into law during one of the most distressing periods in American history. Its hasty introduction spawned controversy across a variety of political spectrums. Concerns regarding...
Words: 3174 - Pages: 13
...The Patriot Act and its Effect on Corporations SECR 5080 – Term Paper 9 May 2015 Table of Contents Abstract – page 3 Introduction – page 3 Current State of Affairs as by the law – page 5 Impact on computing – page 6 Surveillance on Businesses – page 9 Penalty on non-compliance – page 10 Internet Service Providers – page 10 Conclusion – page 12 References – page 13 Abstract The Patriot Act was written into law just a mere 45 days after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. The Patriot Act was intended to counter terrorism by providing law enforcement agencies and intelligence agencies with an easier means to target those connected to terrorism. The Patriot Act has had a great impact on corporations, how they are surveilled and monitored, and huge penalties on noncompliance of the Patriot Act. This paper will further discuss the Patriot Act and its effects on Corporations. Introduction The terrorist attack on the United States on September 11, 2001 shook the foundation of the faith that America had in her security. This prompted congressional action on counteractive action to avoid a repeat occurrence of the terrorist attack on US soil. Measures that were taken included the passage of a Congressional Act referred to as the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001, hereby referred to as the Patriot Act. The passing of the Patriot Act was...
Words: 3253 - Pages: 14
...The Patriot Act Vs The United States Constitution Khadija Nurul Hasan Chaffey College The Patriot Act Vs The United States Constitution The “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism” Act, or Patriot Act was passed on October 24th, 2001 with almost all legislators in favor of it. The terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, sparked a nationwide desire for heightened security and increased abilities for law-enforcement agencies to track and stop terrorists. Thus, the Patriot Act was created in response, and passed with the aim of battling terrorism. However there are always two sides to any passing of a political law: those who support it and those who oppose it. Those who support the Patriot Act have consistently countered that the provisions of the Act are necessary to protect the people from future terrorist attacks, and that the law does an adequate job of protecting individual civil liberties; while those who oppose it argue that the Act is an egregious assault on individual liberties as it violates their constitutional rights. The hypothesis of this paper is to dissect and analyze Sections of the Patriot Act to see if they are in violation of the United States Constitution. Specifically the paper will analyze Sections 505, 215 of the Patriot Act to see if they violate the Constitution. The first violation in question comes from Section 505 of...
Words: 1895 - Pages: 8
...The development and adoption of the PATRIOT Act will explore the explanatory power of the Punctuated Equilibrium theory. This will be done using a longitudinal study of the national security surveillance policies leading up to the Patriot Act. The goal is to determine whether these policy-outcomes followed the pattern described by the Punctuated Equilibrium. The development and adoption of the PATRIOT Act is better understood in comparison to a standard policy making process. For this reason, a comparison is made to the policy making process that lead to the adaptation of the Foreign Intelligence Service Act of 1978. The examination of surveillance policies under the PATRIOT Act and FISA (Foreign Intelligence Service Act of 1978) provides examples of how exogenous or endogenous shocks can trigger drastic policy change. The negative...
Words: 528 - Pages: 3
...coming into our nation and grabbing up land. Then our pursuit of freedom expanded the globe and with other nations as we assisted in the attempt to spread democracy in countries struggling to become nations. In this attempt, there have been many enemies formed that despise the US and the pursuit of freedom. This has become a major concern of the US and on September 11, 2001, this concern became a reality. How could something so devastating be carried out against a world-leading nation? What was wrong with the infrastructure and how could it be fixed to prevent other terrorist attacks. The answer was to form a department in the federal government that would have the power to act and the power to share intelligence information. Terrorism and US Threats The FBI defines terrorism as “violent acts or acts dangerous to human life that violate federal or state law; appear to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; to influence the policy if a government by intimidation or coercion; or to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping.” (FBI.GOV, 2015) The definition further defines...
Words: 3262 - Pages: 14
...1. The Patriot Act (Title II, Sec. 213) allows for the delayed notification of the execution of a search warrant. Under what circumstances can the notification be delayed? With respect to the issuance of any warrant or court order under any other law, to search for 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 under the following three circumstances. Firstly, if the court finds reasonable cause to believe that providing immediate notification of the execution of the warrant may have an adverse result (definition in section 2705). If the warrant prohibits the seizure of any tangible property, any wire or electronic communication (definition in section 2510). Thirdly, if 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 a good cause shown? However, the second circumstance has an exception as expressed in chapter...
Words: 961 - Pages: 4
...James Newberry Andrea Janovic Soc 111 21 April 2013 The Patriot Act Is Unconstitutional On September, 11, 2001, terrorist attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. They were probably going to attempt to fly a fourth plane into the White House. Most of us remember that day, where we were, and even what we were doing that morning; I know that I do. We all felt helpless and defenseless on that September day, and our overwhelming national response was to apprehend the people who had perpetrated this heinous act upon America. A week after the 9-11 attacks President Bush submitted a legislative proposal to combat terrorism called the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (Patriot Act). The Act passed in the Senate without debate. After minor changes were made in the House, the complex, 342-page bill passed 357 to 66 and was signed into law on October 26, 2001. This seemingly innocent law designed to protect Americans has had the opposite effect, eroding the civil liberties of U.S. citizens and non-U.S. citizens residing in the United States today. Shortly after 9/11 the government secretly arrested and jailed some 1,200 people in its investigation of September 11; they refused to divulge the number of arrests, the names of their lawyers, 0r even the reason for their arrests. Most of those arrested were Arabs...
Words: 1515 - Pages: 7
...The events of September 11th, 2001 potentially changed the legal structure of the United States. Following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the President and Congress saw fit to protect the United States by passing a bill called the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act significantly expanded the powers of law enforcement by allowing law enforcement and intelligence agencies to use types of electronic surveillance that were previously only allowed with legal warrants (Ibid, 2001). Additionally, the Patriot Act allows government agencies to detain suspected terrorists for unspecified lengths of time in order to investigate their activities (Ibid, 2001). The detainment of terrorist suspects does not allow these individuals access to an attorney, a trial, or any other guarantee promised in the Constitution. The United States legal and judicial systems utilize a network of checks and balances to ensure that the rights of citizens, as enumerated by the United States Constitution, are not violated. These systems call for crime investigation to require a warrant issued by the judicial branch in order to execute any search or seizure of personal property, as declared by the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution (Madison, 1789). The framers of the United States started the Constitution with a Bill of Rights that set our inalienable rights. These rights are not allowed to be violated and the legal system is designed to protect these rights, even if...
Words: 2363 - Pages: 10
...U.S. Department of Homeland Security Chris Cabral National American University Abstract The primary mission of the Homeland Security Act is to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, reduce the vulnerability of the United States to terrorism, and minimize damage and assist in recovery for terrorist attacks that occur in the United States. The U.S Department of Homeland Security was established after the 9/11 attacks to counter terrorist activities against the United States. Homeland security is officially defined by the National Strategy for Homeland Security as "a concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, reduce America's vulnerability to terrorism, and minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do occur”. The major objective of the Patriot Act is “to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools" by dramatically reducing restrictions pertaining to law enforcement requests to search telephone records, e-mail communication, and health records. The Patriot Act allows for the emergency disclosure of electronic communications to protect life and broadens the definition of terrorism to include acts of domestic terrorism. Under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the Patriot Act allows the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation or a designee of the director to apply for an order requiring the "production of any tangible things (including...
Words: 3497 - Pages: 14
...Final Project: Comprehensive Argument Analysis The Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center database at the University Library provides a wealth of arguments to which you can apply your critical thinking skills. Find this database by logging into to the Library and selecting the Article Databases—Specialized link. From the results page, scroll down to select the Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center link. Resources: Appendix A, Appendix D, and the University Library Due Date: Day 7 [Individual forum] Choose two topics from the Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center that interest you and locate a set of materials from the database for each topic. If you choose school violence as one of your topics, for example, you might find a magazine article that argues that violence in the media causes school violence and a Web site that persuasively argues that violence in the media is not responsible for school violence. Conduct a similar search for your second topic. When finished, you should have two sources per topic. Note: You may use sources from any combination of the Viewpoints, Magazines, Academic Journals, News (use sources marked Editorial and Column), and Web sites database sections. Use the form in Appendix D to critically analyze your four sources. Fill out one form for each source. o Provide the title of the source. o Provide the source citation. Locate the citation by clicking on the Source Citation link at the top of the page when viewing the source. ...
Words: 2251 - Pages: 10
...Effects of USA PATRIOT Act on Banking Privacy Introduction On September 11, 2001, the United States was attacked by the terrorists and the attack has completely changed the way we live and work. Its impact is so immense that it covers almost every aspect of our life including the privacy protection policy in the banking industry. After the September 11 terrorist attack, the U.S. Congress passed a law, the USA PATRIOT Act that makes it easier for government law enforcement and intelligence agencies to gather and share information related to terror-related investigations and it has changed how the banking industry or financial institutions handle the privacy of their customers’ personal information. The purpose of this research paper is to explore the effects of the USA PATRIOT Act on banking industry’s handling customers’ private personal information. Some Background Information and History of Banking Privacy The USA PATRIOT Act is not an official title of the law. It is the acronym of the very long title of the Act: Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001. It was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001. But, before 2001, do we have any law that provides guidelines for the privacy of banking industry in the United States of America? Surely, there are several laws that are related to the financial institutions and the privacy protection policy...
Words: 3707 - Pages: 15
...For instance, one of the Act’s provisions permits law enforcement authorities to use National Security Letters issued by FBI officials instead of warrants authorized by a judge. Thus, with these relatively low standards of proof warrants the Act permits federal agents to access wide range of personal information, such as medical, library, educational, financial, and travel records. In addition, the new law amends Privacy Act and Family Educational Rights by allowing law enforcement authorities to request and obtain student information “in conjunction with a terrorism investigation” (Hockeimer 2). It also grants intelligence authorities to secretly search suspects’ homes without any initial notification if the latter has “an ‘adverse result’ on the investigation” (Kassop 6); what is more, it prohibits “subpoenaed” business from telling anyone whose records were requested and investigated by FBI (Swartz “PATRIOT Act’s Reach Expanded” 1). As Barbara Dority, the president of Humanist of Washington, makes the case in her article “Your Every Move” published in The Humanist, the PATRIOT Act further broadens a definition of domestic terrorism describing it as “act[s] dangerous to human life that...
Words: 1514 - Pages: 7
...An Analysis of Indian Sensibility in Nissim Ezekiel’s Poetry (On the basis of the analysis of Night of the Scorpion, The Patriot, The Professor and Jewish Wedding in Bombay) Nissim Ezekiel is one of the most celebrated poets of the postcolonial Indian literary history. He has wielded great influence as a leading poet, editor and an occasional playwright. He’s applauded for his subtlety in exploring common mundane themes in a comic light. His poetry lacks the nationalistic fervor that was common to the poems released during that time. His poetry objectively analyses the Indian scenario without taking any political stance. He constantly ridicules the Indian sensibilities with hopes of bringing about a change through his words. Ezekiel has strived to create authentic Indian flavor by using ‘Indian English’ in all his poems. He stresses on the common mistakes committed by Indians, such as the usage of the present continuous tense in place of simple present. This is evident in this little excerpt from his poem, The Professor, “We are keeping up. Our progress is progressing. Old values are going, new values are coming. Everything is happening with leaps and bounds.” He ridicules the irony that a professor lacks the command over the language he uses to teach his subject. He also mocks the Indian habit of literal translation of the native language to English with the same structure and tone. This excerpt from “The Patriot” is clearly evident of the same, “How one...
Words: 912 - Pages: 4
...Dr. Timothy Smith PAD 540 International Public Administration Shana Chew February 16, 2015 Policy analysis is the process of researching or analyzing programs to give policy makers specific information about the range of available policy options and their advantages and disadvantages (Denhardt & Denhardt, 2009). The sources of this difficulty can be and are communication between the external and internal departments. Two ways an organization may attempt to overcome are: developing alternatives and updating existing policies. News media influences behavior around the world. Just go back to the last 40-50 years to see the how the activity in the United States has dropped as the media has infrastrated our society. News media in public policy plays the role of watchdogs (Birkland, 2011). Their actions consist of persuading and influencing another to some course of action or the acceptance of something. The primary function of news media is agenda setting. Equally important, news media intertwines with institutional attention. Even though, unofficial actors such as interest groups and news media are not required to participate in public policy there are equally important. “The way people, groups, and the press participate in public life has evolved and grown with the nation” (Birkland, 2011, p.108). Interest groups strive to change public opinion and politician views on certain topics. Information is the most important resource that...
Words: 1316 - Pages: 6
...Cyber-Crime Article Analysis Team D June 12, 2013 CJA/394 Cyber-Crime Article Analysis Cyber-crime is an increasing type of crime locally and globally. Cyber-crime is defined as, “criminal activity or a crime that involves the Internet, a computer system, or computer technology,” ("Cyber-crime," 2012). Law enforcement, courts, and corrections are affected in different ways by cyber-crimes. Law enforcement faces issues with cyber-crime, such as privacy, confidentiality, determining the location the crime initiated, and locating the perpetrator(s). Courts face issues, such as loss of evidence and loop holes in laws. Correctional facilities face internal cyber-crimes and overcrowding as a result of cyber-crimes. The following information will discuss the issues within each division of the criminal justice system and provide remedy recommendations. The information will conclude with an analysis of global crime. Cyber-crime and Law Enforcement Cyber crime has made a major impact on the law enforcement it has not only given them more things to have to worry about but also has helped them to solve and organize crime better. The internet has changed so many things about this world, from how we purchase things, how we keep in touch with one another, and of course how some can conduct crime. Not only can a criminal stalk someone, but they can also stalk that person’s child, especially at sites like Face Book. A Hacker...
Words: 1524 - Pages: 7
