[Peace-discuss] Fwd: FCNL (8/8/03): House Votes to Limit USA PATRIOT Act

[Jay Mittenthal]

>Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003 13:47:23 -0400 (EDT)
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>Subject: FCNL (8/8/03): House Votes to Limit USA PATRIOT Act
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>FCNL INFO LINE
>8/8/03
>
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>Good News to Report: Congressional Action to Limit the USA PATRIOT Act
>
>It came in an unexpected package, and it garnered overwhelming
>bipartisan support.  On July 22, 2003 the House of Representatives broke
>the ice and passed the first Congressional measure that would place
>limits on the USA PATRIOT Act.
>
>Here's what happened:  Each fiscal year, congressional committees
>examine the legislation appropriating funds to pay for the programs and
>expenses previously authorized for Executive departments and the
>Judiciary.  In the bill appropriating funds for use by the Commerce,
>Justice, and State Departments and the Judicial branch during the 2004
>fiscal year, the House surprised Washington by voting 309-118 (!) that
>none of the funds appropriated for use by the Department of Justice may
>be used for the so-called "sneak and peek" searches and seizures allowed
>by section 213 of the USA PATRIOT Act.  The prohibition came in the form
>of an unheralded bi-partisan amendment to the appropriations bill,
>offered on the House floor by Reps. "Butch" Otter (ID), Ron Paul (TX),
>and Dennis Kucinich (OH).
>
>Here's what the House rejected:  A warrant for a "sneak and peek" search
>(also called a "black bag" search) allows a law enforcement agent
>(including CIA and NSA agents, operating inside the U.S.) to break into
>a home or business to take photos, seize physical property, examine and
>copy computer files, load a secret keystroke detector on a computer, or
>download the information from a previously loaded keystroke detector.
>"Sneak and peek" warrants are issued under easier standards than were
>applied before the USA PATRIOT Act was passed.  Under section 213,
>"sneak and peek" searches can be applied not only to terrorism
>investigations, but also to any criminal investigation.  Notification of
>the search and seizure can be delayed, even indefinitely.  A Justice
>Department report announced that 'sneak and peek" searches have been
>used on 47 separate occasions and that delay in notification has been
>sought almost 250 times.
>
>A "sneak and peek" search can be compared with a "knock and announce"
>search, in which law enforcement officials must leave notice that they
>were on the premises and a receipt for any items seized.  The notice
>provisions allow the property owner immediately to contest the search in
>court, challenging, for example, that there's a mistake in the name on
>the warrant or the address searched, or that the search and seizure
>exceeded the scope described by the court's warrant.
>
>The Supreme Court first found a "sneak and peek" search to be
>constitutional in 1979, but Congress has never been able to agree as to
>how that power is to be used by federal officials.  Courts have
>responded to situations in which suspects would fee prosecution or
>destroy evidence by allowing delayed notification of searches on request
>and evidence from the prosecution. The Justice Department has tried to
>pass provisions to legitimize "sneak and peek" searches for drug and
>organized crime cases since at least 1999.  Congress rejected these
>attempts until the use of the "sneak and peek" procedure was linked to
>terrorism investigations after 9/11 in the USA PATRIOT Act.
>
>Here's the Justice Department's reaction: Justice Department officials
>have introduced their own catchy phrase to the mix: "terrorist tipoff
>amendment."  The Justice Department stated that it had used "sneak and
>peek" warrants in the past in drug and organized crime cases, and that
>section 213 actually narrows use of "sneak and peek" searches by
>spelling out when they may be used.  Justice Department officials warned
>of problems in the prosecution of criminal matters if the section is
>outlawed.  In their public remarks, the Justice Department officials
>have not elaborated on these claims, either of use prior to
>congressional authorization or specifics about the impact of prohibition
>of funding for this section.
>
>Here's what's next: This measure must survive the joint conference
>committee between the House and Senate, and then Presidential signature
>(or veto).
>
>Please forward this message on to family and friends who are concerned
>about the USA PATRIOT Act and the status of civil liberties.  You can
>also check FCNL's Civil Liberties and Human Rights webpage for more
>information at <http://www.fcnl.org/issues/issue.php?issue_id=67>.
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