Question

Learn all you can about the US Patriot Act. What is it? When was it enacted? What agencies oversee its enforcement? Provide some examples of court cases that involved violations of this act. What are some of the punishment(s) if someone is found guilty?

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Let us understand the meaning and importance of USA Patriot Act

Meaning and Importance of USA Patriot Act

The USA Patriot Act  is an act of the United States Congress that was signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001.

USA Patriot is a acronym that stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.

The purpose of the USA Patriot Act is to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world.

Legislative proposals in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 were introduced less than a week after the attacks. President Bush signed the final bill, the USA PATRIOT Act, into law on October 26, 2001.

FBI have done Enforcement of USA Patriot Act -

Under the Patriot Act, National Security Letters (NSLs) are issued by FBI agents, without a judge's approval, to obtain personal information, including phone records, computer records, credit history, and banking history.

But It violates the Fourth Amendment, which says the government cannot conduct a search without obtaining a warrant and showing probable cause to believe that the person has committed or will commit a crime.

Some examples of court cases that involved violations of this act.

The Civil Case - Use of National Security Letters

The defendants in this case were indicted in June of 2012 on five counts related to providing financial support to al-Shabaab, a Somali militia group that was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department on February 26, 2008.

During the lower court proceedings, the defendants filed motions to suppress evidence collected pursuant to warrants and electronic surveillance orders issued under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which the court denied.

The defendants also requested that their security-cleared counsel be granted access to pertinent FISA applications and related materials in order to prepare their legal and constitutional defenses. The defendants were ultimately convicted by a jury on February 22, 2013.

The court denied the defendants' motion for a new trial. The defendants subsequently filed an appeal to the Ninth Circuit, which is currently pending

Punishment under the USA Patriot Act

The purpose of the USA Patriot Act is to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world

Federal agents use roving wiretaps while tracking international terrorists trained to avoid surveillance by rapidly changing locations and communication devices.

A reasonable delay in notifying terrorist suspects of a search warrant gives law enforcement time to identify the criminal’s associates, eliminate immediate community threats, and coordinate the arrests of individuals without first tipping them off.

USA Patriot Act anti-terrorism law aim to transform the federal death penalty system by allowing smaller juries to decide on executions and giving prosecutors the ability to try again if the jury deadlocks on sentencing.

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