The USA Patriot Act was signed into law on Oct. 26, 2001, due to the need for cooperation among all levels of security. Police and other department agencies were given powerful authority and encouraged to share information. This is to meet the goal for a safer America in times of turmoil including international affairs. But as the years have passed and as terrorist attacks seem to cease, people have begun to question if there’s too many restrictions on law enforcement were called off. In December 2005, the National Security Agency was accused of wiretapping into calls without having a warrant. The program was confirmed by President Bush and many other public officials who considered the taping legal. The American Civil Liberties Union pressed a lawsuit. ACLU states “A federal judge in Detroit found the program both unconstitutional and illegal.” Furthermore, the case was appealed and entered the U.S. Court of Appeals where the circuit overturned the ruling stating “the plaintiffs could not prove with certainty the NSA was wiretapping phones, but decided not to rule on the …show more content…
US NEWS informs us, “Drones in Seattle and Miami are equipped with video cameras capable of taking daytime and nighttime video, as are drones used by the Texas Department of Public Safety.” In 1989 Supreme Court decision ruled that police may use helicopters to peer into semiprivate areas including the backyard of a house without first obtaining a warrant. The Congressional Research Service furthermore states “The legal issues discussed in this report will likely remain unresolved until the civilian use of drones becomes more widespread”. The fourth amendment prohibits any search and seizures without a warrant. The drones which include cameras can come into citizen’s property as close as their yard, without having a
Case: Maryland v. Pringle, 540 U.S. 366 (2003). Court: United State Supreme Court Dates: Argued November 3, 2003— Decided December 15, 2003 Parties: Maryland / Appellants, Pringle / Appellee Procedural History: Sitting in the front passenger seat of a vehicle, Pringle and the other three occupants in a vehicle was pulled over by the police. The police suspected the passengers in the vehicle had drugs in their possession.
For instance, the Act allows government interception of personal communication through wiretapping and other means. This enables the government to intercept communication among terrorism suspects. Law enforcers can also intercept personal communications of innocent citizens and non-citizens. However, patriot act supporters argue that electronic surveillance of people suspected to be a threat to national security has been in practice long before the patriot act. Secret hearings, warrants, and wiretapping have been around since 1978, based on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
The Patriot Act was a legislation that passed that allowed
They argue that the USA Patriot Act did not expand the law enforcement powers as dramatically as critics say. They argue that the act only made minor amendments to the electronic surveillance laws and that many of them were preexisting. They argue that the Patriot Act isn't perfect, but no policy is, and it is hardly the "Big Brother" people believe it to be. Unfortunately, the policy itself is clear in its purpose.
of last year the LAPD received reports from a Canadian jetliner about a drone flying at 4,000 feet just 10 miles east of the Los Angeles International Airport. About a week later the LAPD spotted a drone in L.A. just outside the northwest side of the police headquarters. The drone flew around the 10th story of the building, and then moved on to hovering above City Hall. Another incident involved a drone operator named Daniel Saulmon. Saulmon was originally arrested for filming police on the ground, so he began filming the LAPD from the air with a drone.
Even Obama who promised, “In his campaign for the presidency, a repeal of some of its more sinister provisions (surveillance, wiretaps and so forth). It has not been repealed… Obama this year signed a four-year extension of it.” The Quote makes a point that the government officials believe that everything under the patriot act should still
One group that argues this is the American Civil Liberties Union, which strongly disagrees with the Patriot Act. They have stated that investigations into the Patriot Act, “reveal thousands of violations of law,” (ACLU), while this is simply not true. One controversial piece of the Patriot Act are roving wiretaps. These allow government investigators to follow and put surveillance on certain people, rather than certain devices, so that they may save time and effort. According to Nathan Sales, a law professor at George Mason University, “Federal courts agree that Title III’s roving wiretaps authority is constitutional and… provides strong support for constitutionality,” (Sales).
For example a drone is ideal for SWAT operations, crowd control, criminal missing person, forensics crime scene, gangs, narcotics, search and rescue, vehicle crashes and corrections (prisons). However, using drones for the constant surveillance of someone at their personal property is illegal unless the law enforcement agency obtains a warrant. There are many cases that have been thrown out due to be in violation of the fourth amendment. In the case Kyllo v. the United States (2001)” Suspicious marijuana was being grown in petitioner Kyllo’s home in a triplex, agents used a thermal imaging device to scan the triplex to determine if the amount of heat emanating from it was consistent with the high-intensity lamps typically used for indoor marijuana growth.
In conclusion, the USA Patriot Act has long enabled law enforcement to remain above the rules and regulations of the United States legislature. It has resulted in distrust of the American people towards their enforcing bureaucracy. The citizens of the United States have lost their civil rights and have been treated as criminals in penalty of an unknown crime. For too long, police have been able to abuse their power. The Patriot Act has destroyed the public opinion of law enforcement due to technological advances and information collection.
Imagine being eavesdropped by the government, while talking a private conversation. This would make people feel unsafe. Katz, a person who experienced it, went to court because of this. The Supreme Court agrees to hear about 100-150 cases out of 7,000 per year. Cases are brought up to the court by the people filing a complaint or the people think their rights has been deprived by other citizens(USGOV).
Ever since Harry Truman, the government has been keeping internet and phone records. But now, it’s gone too far. On October 26, 2001, President George W Bush signed the USA Patriot Act. When it went through Congress, the House of Representatives passed the act with a vote of
4. Abuse of the Patriot Act— Several provisions of the Patriot Act were set to expire at the end of 2005 and, despite opposition from across the political spectrum and more than 400 community and state resolutions expressing concern about the Patriot Act, Congress reauthorized the law without reforming its most flawed provisions to bring these extraordinary powers back in line with the Constitution. Since then, the Justice Department 's Inspector General found that the FBI has issued hundreds of thousands of national security letters, a majority against U.S. persons, and many without any connection to terrorism at
Ever since the 1960 's the justice system has been under construction because of the innovative precedents. There has been a constant debate about the justification of the people and how police conduct has an impact. the framework of the fourth amendment will give a better understanding on how the fourth amendment is used. "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, house, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall be issue, but apon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or thing to be seized (U.S Const,. amend IV).
Have you ever wondered why the Patriot Act played a big part in history or why it is so important to us? Well the government has compromised our civil liberties through the use of the Patriot Act. They also abused our privacy which wasn’t fair for us. The history of the Patriot Act, the abuse of our rights, and the way everything ended made the Americans feel like they couldn’t trust their government because they felt like they were always being watched. Through the Patriot Act, the law enforcement agencies and the government are given wide optional powers to acquire information not only from suspected people but also from the law-abiding Americans.
Drones can be used for finding a lost child in the park or hikers in the mountain. Drone technology is a fast growing industry that can help us many ways to help to find lost people, watch our borders and go places that are too dangerous for us to go. Drones can be used for many nonviolent and harmless purposes. After all, it’s free thinking machine that under human