1) the U.S.A. Patriot Act has been touted to do just this - or to make things better in terms of security of American citizens and it is certain that the provisions of this Act have served to increase levels of security for American citizens but this security has come with a cost attached and for some Americans the cost is too high and too intrusive upon their basic civil rights. One such instance of the complexity created within the security paradigm are the no-fly lists that have been implemented in U.S. airports since September 11, 2001, has created great complexities for individuals who have been wrongly listed on the no-fly lists and improper and highly questionable airport search of individuals have been scattered across the headlines in new reports. Another aspect of the U.S.A. Patriot Act that has been identified as troubling for American citizens is the practice of placing individuals under arrested and then denying the individuals the basic legal rights to counsel and going so far as to incarcerate these individuals in prison that are located outside of the United States such as the prison located at Guantanamo Bay.
A report published by CNN in July 2003 entitled: "Patriot Act reports Documents Civil Rights Complaints" relates that the Justice Department inspector general office, "found the violations from its regular six-month survey of the antiterror law." (Bohn, 2003, p.1) in fact, it is stated in this report that Representative John Conyers, a Democrat from Michigan states that the attorney general "appears on television nearly every week claiming to protect us, while he simultaneously dismantles our civil liberties and civil rights." (Bohn, 2003, p.1)
The U.S. Department of Justice - Office of the Inspector General "Report to Congress on Implementation of Section 1001 of the U.S.A. Patriot Act" published in July 2003 relates that complaints received during the reporting period beginning December 16, 2002 and ending June 15, 2003 included the following types and numbers of complaints:
1) number of complaints received suggesting a Patriot Act-related civil rights or civil liberties connection - 1073;
2) Number of complaints outside the OIG's jurisdiction - 431;
3) Number of unrelated complaints - 370;
4) Number of complaints within the OIG's jurisdiction - 272 (U.S. Department of Justice, 2003)
The report states that only a fraction of these reports were found to be valid complaints however, validity is relative to the viewpoint of the individual and the manner in which civil liberties are viewed. In other words, what might not appear to be a violation of civil rights from one standpoint looks from another standpoint to be an extreme violation of the individual's civil rights as guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution and accompanying Bill of Rights.
A separate CNN report published September 2002 entitled: "Balancing Life and Liberty: Danger to Civil Liberties When Security is Strengthened" relates that "regulations now allow federal agents to eavesdrop on attorney-client conversations for terrorism cases; government officials are told they can deny public access to many documents requested under the Freedom of Information Act." (Drew, 2003, p.1) it is additionally reported however, that court rulings "have stalled some of the administration's moves." (Drew, 2003, p. 1) in fact, in August 2002, it was ordered by two federal judges that the federal government must "release the names of hundreds detained in the terror probe, and they criticized treatment of a U.S. citizen held as any enemy combatant, a classification that allows prosecutors to detain someone indefinitely without bringing charges or allowing access to an attorney." (Drew, 2003, p.1)
In 2003, the U.S.A. Patriot Act II was implemented and the following facts are stated relating to this ACT:
1) Privacy invasions - This Act 'dramatically widens the powers of government to invade the privacy of Americans and others living here' including: (a) Immunity for businesses that voluntarily turn over your information to law enforcement; (b) Extra punishment for use of cryptography-- no connection to terrorism needed; - Instant police access to your credit reports upon certification that they are sought "in connection with their duties" -- again, with no connection to terrorism needed; (d) Relaxed requirement of specificity for warrants for multi-use devices like PDAs and computers with telephonic capabilities; (e) DNA collected from all terrorism suspects/DNA database information open to all law enforcement;
f) Less judicial oversight of surveillance;
2) More 'end runs' around limitations on surveillance and information sharing;
3) Gag orders and increased governmental secrecy;
4) Expanded reach of powers under the control of secret courts; and 5) Not targeted to terrorism. (Electronic Frontier Foundation, 2003)
The conclusion stated in the analysis conducted by the Electronic Frontier Foundation is that the U.S.A. Patriot Act II would "create grave new violations of the privacy of ordinary Americans and place even more unchecked power into the hands of law enforcement and the intelligence community. We're only beginning to see the effects of USAPA and the administration has not made the case that we are safer as a result of it." (2003)
SUMMARY & CONCLUSION
The USA Patriot Act I and II have resulted in grave civil rights violations and of the nature...
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