AUGSTIN, IF YOU ARE GOING TO POST SOMETHING AT LEAST GIVE US THE LINK TO WHERE IT CAME FROM.
Here is a good article from someone that has had to use the PA.
U.S. Department of Justice
Michael J. Sullivan
United States Attorney
District of Massachusetts
Main Reception: (617) 748-3100
John Joseph Moakley
United States Courthouse
1 Courthouse Way
Suite 9200
Boston, Massachusetts 02210
May 28, 2004
Board of Selectmen
Town of Hudson
78 Main Street
Hudson, MA 01749
"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness--That
to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men…”
(Declaration of Independence, 1776)
Dear Selectmen:
The Declaration of Independence ensures that the first responsibility of government is to preserve the lives and liberty of the people. As public servants, we have dedicated our lives to this responsibility. Our Forefathers also recognized that, to secure these rights, "governments are instituted among men."
Following the tragic events of September 11th, President George W. Bush, and Attorney General John Ashcroft vowed to do everything within the law to prevent additional terrorist attacks. The Department of Justice worked with local, state and federal partners to determine what tools were needed to preserve life and liberty in each of your communities.
Every sector of law enforcement was also asked to assist the federal government in rooting out networks of terror. Improving communication, sharing of information and building infrastructures to respond to disaster, are just a few of the ways cities and towns, across the Commonwealth, responded.
One of the most significant tools the Justice Department has used to assist in making our communities safer, and to provide the security that ensures liberty, has been the USA PATRIOT Act. Passed with wide bipartisan support by Congress, the PATRIOT Act has aided in preventing additional attacks on U.S. soil.
In fact, the Bill passed 98 to 1 in the United States Senate and by a five to one margin (357 to 66) in the United States House of Representatives.
As you are well aware, the PATRIOT Act does three things:
1. It closes gaping holes in our ability to investigate terrorists.
2. It updates our anti?terrorism laws to meet the challenges of new technology, and new threats.
3. It allows us to utilize a coordinated and integrated strategy for information sharing and fighting terrorism.
Essentially the PATRIOT Act gives investigators the ability to fight terror, using many of the court-approved tools that have been used successfully for many years in drug, fraud, and organized crime cases. I am confident that most Americans expect that these law enforcement tools are also available to protect lives and liberties from terrorists.
New York Post Columnist Rich Lowry explained it best, "Many of the new powers under the act --such as 'the roving wiretap,’ which allows the government to continue monitoring a target who switches phones -- aren't really new. They give counterterrorism investigators the same powers investigators already have in mob cases."
How has the PATRIOT Act helped in the war against terror?
- To date, 163 individuals have been convicted or have pled guilty in the United States, including shoe-bomber Richard Reid;
- More than 3,000 operatives worldwide have been incapacitated;
- Four terrorist cells in Buffalo, Detroit, Seattle, and Portland (Oregon), have been broken up
- We have deported more than 5 15 individuals with links to the September 11th investigation;
- Over 19,000 subpoenas and search warrants have been issued;
- We have frozen $133 million in assets around the world;
- Hundreds of suspected terrorists have been identified and tracked throughout the United States.
Nearly three years have passed since the horrific events of September 11th. With the passage of time, many misconceptions and myths have emerged about the intention, and the content of the PATRIOT Act. As public servants, I believe it is incumbent upon us to educate our constituencies about the PATRIOT Act and dispel the myths and inaccuracies about it's content and its authority. In many instances, some of the PATRIOT Act's harshest critics, have never even read the entire Act. Materials and representations used by opponents of the Act, make frightening claims that suggest the Act is a virtual roll back of the First Amendment. Indeed, no law in recent history has inspired such spirited opposition as the Act. Debate on this or any law is healthy; indeed, informed debate is a cornerstone of American democracy. But misinformed debate neither enlightens nor teaches. Much of what has been said about the Act is simply not true.
One provision that opponents have criticized is so-called "delayed notice" search warrants. Delayed notice of search warrant is neither new nor unique. For decades, the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts have found these search warrants constitutional and appropriate in cases involving drug dealing and organized crime. Delayed notice of search warrant is critical in the terrorism fight. Without the ability to do delayed notice search warrants many investigations would suffer and criminals would escape.
Another provision that has caused some concern is the business records provision, under Section 215, which opponents claim gives law enforcement the right to examine our reading habits at a library. This is once again a misleading claim intended to frighten law abiding citizens. Library records have long been obtainable pursuant to Grand Jury subpoenas in routine criminal investigations. In fact, library records obtained by subpoena or provided voluntarily wore an important part of the years-long investigation into the murderous activities of the Unibomber. The Act now allows terror investigators to obtain court orders for similar records in international terrorism cases, issued by judges sitting in a specialized court in Washington. That court must find that the requested records are relevant in obtaining foreign intelligence information against someone other than a United States citizen or to protect against terrorism or spying. The Act expressly forbids investigation solely based on First Amendment activities.
The ACLU falsely claims that section 218 "authorizes unconstitutional activity -- searches and wiretaps in non-emergency circumstances..." The truth is, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review held that Section 219 is constitutional in its entirety "because the surveillances it authorizes are, reasonable." Section 218 is designed to allow the sharing of information among government agencies to protect against terrorist activity. Prior to the passage of the PATRIOT Act, despite the critical need to get intelligence information into the hands of appropriate government personnel, such information sharing among national security officials and criminal investigators was illegal. Before the USA PATRIOT Act, a perceived metaphorical "wall" often inhibited vital information sharing and coordination. Intelligence investigators were concerned about sharing information with, and seeking advice from, law enforcement investigators and prosecutors. Section 218 expressly permits the full coordination between intelligence and law enforcement that is vital to protecting the nation's security.
I believe it is vital that citizens get accurate information and decide on the facts for themselves. Simply put, we need the time?tested tools provided in the Act to do our most important job — protecting the American people by discovering and preventing acts of terrorism before they occur.
I strongly encourage each of you to visit www.lifeandliberty.gov and share the information with your communities. The website, among other things, contains the text of the Act, and discusses key points that address the common misconceptions.
Of the 351 cities and towns across the Commonwealth, only 22 have passed resolutions against the PATRIOT Act. Most, if not all of these 22 communities did not have the benefit of a full understanding of the checks and balances, limitations and vital security provisions of the Art. There is work that still needs to be done to educate the general public about the true content and goal of the Act.
Ground Zero, The Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania - all reminders that our first responsibility as public servants, is to preserve the lives and liberty of the people.
Our job in the war against terror is far from finished. We need to utilize the tools Congress, and the president of the United States gave us, including the PATRIOT Act, to protect the American people.
In a speech last summer, Attorney General Ashcroft said it best, "Our final tribute to the dead of September 11th must be to fulfill our responsibility to defend the living... to finish the work. Our greatest memorial to those who have passed must be to protect the lives and liberties of those yet to come."
Chief Judge Michael B. Mukasey of the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, concluded a recent speech entitled "The Spirit of Liberty" by referencing historian Walter Berns' perspective of the Constitution, "that the government it establishes is entitled, at least in the first instance, to receive from its citizens the benefit of the doubt. If we keep that in mind, then the spirit of liberty will be the spirit which, if it is not too sure that it is right, is at least sure enough to keep itself--and us--alive." I have taken the liberty of enclosing a copy of Judge Mukasey's remarks which were recently printed in the Wall Street Journal.
The bottom line is that preventing terrorism is hard work - but it is the calling of our time. We need the updated and common sense tools the Act provides to get this job done. I am confident that, armed with the facts, the citizens across the country will agree that we, as a nation, need these tools. Thanks to you and the tools authorized by Congress and lawfully used by your government, we are preserving lives, liberty, and the rule of law.
If you would like further detailed information pertaining to the PATRIOT Act please do not hesitate to contact my Executive Assistant Mary Connors at (617) 748?3350.
Sincerely,
MICHAEL J. SULLIVAN
United States Attorney
http://www.bordc.org/usatty.htm
/Super Milk Chan
And more importantly, how many have been turned over? See, when a case here in the US is turned OVER, that is a statement from the court saying something in the case was deemed unconstitutional.