The Patriot Act

Paper Summary:

The paper relates that because the stipulations in the Patriot Act infringed upon civil liberties without a system of checks and balances, legislators were prompted to include a sunset clause that would automatically terminate some of the government's surveillance authority on or by a specific date. The paper explains how the Patriot Act amended a number of different statutes and briefly discusses the viewpoint of those in favor of and those against the Patriot Act.

From the Paper:

"Many of the privacy issues driven by the "war against terror" can be directly linked to the Patriot Act. Title II of the Patriot Act, "Enhanced Surveillance Procedures," increased the government's authority to seize oral, wires, and electronic exchanges; to engage in pen register and trap and trace searches; to be granted access to certain business, library, and medical records; to use a single search warrant for nation-wide searches; to utilize subpoenas for electronic communications; to search records and not notify the owners; to limit the legal responsibility of persons who divulge private records to the government (a direct infringement of privacy laws); and to authorize information sharing between law enforcement and intelligence-gathering organizations (Baker, 2004)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Baker, N. (2004). National securities versus civil liberties. Presidential Studies Quarterly. 33 (3), 547-568.
• Epic, (2005). USA Patriot Act sunset. Retrieved on 17 November 2007 fromhttp://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/usapatriot/sunset.html.
• Thomson Gale Databases, (2007). House votes for no telco immunity. eWeek.
• Soma, J., Nichols, M., Rynerson, S., Maish, L., and Rogers, J., (2005). Balance of privacy vs. security: A historical perspective of the USA Patriot Act. Rutgers Computer & Technology Law Journal, 31(2 ) 285 (61).
• Thornburgh, R. (2005). Balancing civil liberties and homeland security: Does the USAPatriot Act avoid Justice Robert H. Jackson's "suicide pact?" Albany Law Review, 801-814.

More papers on The Patriot Act:

• Argumentative Essay # 129966 : "The Patriot Act's Impact on American Society"
• Analytical Essay # 134468 : "Opposition and Support for the Patriot Act"
• Analytical Essay # 141693 : "The Patriot Act"
• Analytical Essay # 88544 : "The Patriot Act"

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