Monday, January 31, 2005
ACLU Urges Court To Reject FBI Secrecy In Damra Wiretap
NewsNet5.com reports: "A federal appeals court in Cincinnati Monday began hearing an appeal by the leader of Ohio's largest mosque of his conviction for hiding terrorist ties while applying for U.S. citizenship. Attorneys for Imam Fawaz Damra want the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to grant Damra a new trial and allow them to contest wiretap evidence in a suppression hearing."
Condi Rice: Misrule of Law
Nat Hentoff writes: "Therefore, the new secretary of state will defer to, of all people, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales—the orchestrator of the administration's torture memos—to make sure that American prisoners are not subject to some of the following techniques that have been reported by troubled FBI agents in Guantánamo, along with concerned counter-intelligence officers: attaching electrodes to private parts; chaining hands and feet in a fetal position for long periods of time without food and water; inserting lighted cigarettes into ears; and prolonged, severe beatings, among other persuasions. Whether Rice defines these as torture or not, they have been used on prisoners under direct American custody."
Amid Praise, Doubts About Nominee's Post-9/11 Role
"On Nov. 28, 2001, then-Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff took a seat before a Senate committee and offered reassurance on two fronts: The Justice Department was unrelenting in pursuit of terrorists. And none of its tactics had trampled the Constitution or federal law." The Washington Post has this article.
Political foes join forces against Patriot Act
The Reno Gazette-Journal reports: "The civil rights struggles of the 1950s and 1960s shaped the political philosophy of Joetta Brown of Gardnerville. Dave Schumann of Minden described himself as a states’ rights advocate who doesn’t think the federal government can claim ownership to most of Nevada. Although the pair are at the opposite ends of the political spectrum, they are part of efforts in Nevada to overturn portions of the Patriot Act."
'4th Amendment Shuffle,' by the Supremes
"Warning: The next time you are stopped for a routine traffic violation, you might also be visited by man's best friend. Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court approved the further erosion of our basic civil liberties. In a 6-2 decision, the court broadened the powers of law enforcement officers by allowing them to use drug-sniffing dogs, regardless of probable cause." The Payson Roundup has this op-ed.
Friday, January 28, 2005
Ashcroft: Take Small Steps in War on Terror
"'I've sat on both sides of that table in the Senate. I went through a difficult confirmation proceeding of my own,' Ashcroft told FOX News on Thursday in one of his last media interviews before retiring from the post. 'But I'm not going to advise the Senate Democrats on politics. I'm delighted that the president's understanding of politics has been endorsed overwhelmingly by the American people and whether they want to learn from that or not, is up to them,' he said." Fox News has this account.
FBI in Talks to Extend Reach
The Los Angeles Times reports: "The FBI is significantly expanding its intelligence-gathering activities in the U.S., including stepped-up efforts to collect and report intelligence on foreign figures and governments, a function that long has been principally the CIA's domain, intelligence and congressional sources said Thursday."
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Elmira A Step Closer To Protecting Civil Liberties
WENY-TV reports: "The city of Elmira and Chemung County could soon join more than 360 other communities nationwide considered Civil Liberty Safe Zones. Tuesday night concerned citizens and members of the ACLU came together to discuss how basic rights are affected by the USA Patriot Act and other post-September 11th policies."
Unanswered Questions
"The White House would like to chalk it up to partisan politics. But the unexpectedly narrow, 10-8 party-line vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee to confirm Alberto Gonzales as attorney general was really the product of deep-seated frustration among moderate Democrats over the White House counsel's refusal to answer key questions about his role in shaping legal policies for combating terrorism." Newsweek has this article.
Committee endorses Gonzales on party-line vote
"The Senate Judiciary Committee, with Democrats in solid opposition, on Wednesday approved White House counsel Alberto Gonzales' nomination as attorney general, paving the way for a vote in the full Senate next week. Before the 10-8 straight party-line vote, committee Democrats said they could not endorse a man they described as an architect of policies linked to detainee abuses in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay." The Dallas Morning News reports here.
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
The Bill of Rights: Searches and Seizures
"The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is rooted in the horrific government abuses arising from 'general warrants' in English history and 'writs of assistance' in British colonial history in America. With the aim of protecting the American people from similar abuses at the hands of U.S. federal officials, the Fourth Amendment was worded as follows: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." The Future of Freedom Foundation has this article.
Opposition to Gonzales Confirmation Comes From an Unexpected Corner
"Human Rights First, a human rights group headed by a campaign donor to and former business partner of President Bush, has decided to oppose the confirmation of Alberto Gonzales to the post of attorney general. The president of the group is Tom Bernstein, co-founder and president of the sports and entertainment facility Chelsea Piers, and he was one of the principal owners of the Texas Rangers baseball club in the ownership group led by Mr. Bush." The New York Sun has this article.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
On Civil Liberties Myopia: It’s a God Awful Affair
"So when did the assault on Americans’ civil liberties get jumpstarted? The current liberal establishment seems to deem 9/11 the chief catalyst. Many of the most loathsome specimens within the haughty club imply that drastic incursions on Americans’ civil liberties only began after 9/11, while the Clinton Administration represented a civil liberties paradise. Take John Kerry, partisan drone, and stand-up comedian Margaret Cho, who at a MoveOn.org benefit railed: 'I mean, I'm afraid of terrorism, but I'm more afraid of the Patriot Act,' even though her candidate of choice not only voted for the legislation but authored many of its components." Dissident Voice has this article.
At Ashcroft's Farewell, Much Reverence
"There were, of course, the good-natured gibes at the guest of honor's expense over his public image. As one senior Justice Department official playfully reminded Attorney General John Ashcroft at his going-away party on Monday, David Letterman had said that Mr. Ashcroft was stepping down because 'he wants to spend more time spying on his family.'" The New York Times has this article.
ILLINOIS v. CABALLES
"After an Illinois state trooper stopped respondent for speeding and radioed in, a second trooper, overhearing the transmission, drove to the scene with his narcotics-detection dog and walked the dog around respondent's car while the first trooper wrote respondent a warning ticket. When the dog alerted at respondent's trunk, the officers searched the trunk, found marijuana, and arrested respondent. At respondent's drug trial, the court denied his motion to suppress the seized evidence, holding, inter alia, that the dog's alerting provided sufficient probable cause to conduct the search. Respondent was convicted, but the Illinois Supreme Court reversed, finding that because there were no specific and articulable facts to suggest drug activity, use of the dog unjustifiably enlarged a routine traffic stop into a drug investigation." FindLaw has this Supreme Court opinion.
Monday, January 24, 2005
Is Big Brother watching you while you surf?
"We tend to think that our Web browsing is mostly anonymous and private, but just how much of our online activity is being monitored by the U.S. government? And under what circumstances? It turns out that it is impossible to tell, not because it is technically too difficult to determine but because the government refuses to tell us." The Daily Yomiuri has this article.
Court OKs Dog Sniff During Traffic Stop
"The Supreme Court gave police broader search powers Monday during traffic stops, ruling that drug-sniffing dogs can be used to check out motorists even if officers have no reason to suspect they may be carrying narcotics. In a 6-2 decision, the court sided with Illinois police who stopped Roy Caballes in 1998 along Interstate 80 for driving 6 miles over the speed limit. Although Caballes lawfully produced his driver's license, troopers brought over a drug dog after Caballes seemed nervous." AP reports here.
Biden Says He Is Leaning Against Gonzales Confirmation
"Sen. Joseph Biden, a senior Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said Sunday he was leaning against confirmation of Alberto Gonzales, President Bush's choice to be the next attorney general." Reuters reports here.
DNA Tests In Violation of Civil Liberties
"Earlier this month, police arranged to have the DNA of 790 men in Truro, Mass. collected. At the request of the FBI, state and local police conducted a massive DNA collection in the hopes of finding a lead on the three-year-old murder case of Christa Worthington. While these sorts of mass collections have been effective in solving crime in various European nations, they have seldom been used in the United States." New University Paper has this op-ed.
The Ghosts of Torture
Nat Hentoff writes: "The CIA has been kidnapping American prisoners and sending them to other countries to be tortured since the Clinton administration, but with particular urgency and quantity since 9-11, as I will show in a future column. Moreover, the CIA has forcibly transferred prisoners from various locations into its own secret interrogation centers, including ships at sea, where the prisoners' identities are secret, resulting in their being called "ghost prisoners" by human rights organizations."
Friday, January 21, 2005
Parents question details of drug policy
"A group of about 75-80 concerned parents, teachers and administrators converged on the campus of Jacksonville High School Wednesday night to discuss the school board’s newly adopted Student Competitive Extracurricular Activities Drug Testing Policy. The majority noted they were in favor of the policy, however, they had numerous questions about the particulars of just what would be expected of the students and how the testing system would work." JaxNews.com has this account.
Thursday, January 20, 2005
John Ashcroft's Exit Interview
"On the eve of President Bush's inauguration, outgoing Attorney General John Ashcroft spoke exclusively to Peter Jennings about his tenure at the helm of the U.S. Justice Department. Ashcroft — who has developed a colorful public service record over the last 30 years — talked about his decision to resign, America's response to terrorism, the controversial Patriot Act, and his faith and legacy." ABC News has this excerpt.
Excerpt: "No Place to Hide"
"Every time you use your credit cards or a computerized pass to enter a building or to get by a toll booth, you're giving up personal information about yourself. Author Robert O'Harrow takes a look at this trend and how it can affect your private life in his new book, 'No Place To Hide.'" ABC News has this book excerpt.
Senate Panel Delays Vote on Gonzales
The New York Times reports: "The Senate Judiciary Committee postponed a vote on Alberto R. Gonzales's nomination for attorney general on Wednesday after Democrats accused Mr. Gonzales of evading their questions about the Bush administration's policies on the treatment of prisoners captured in Iraq and Afghanistan."
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Patriot Act challenge returns to TM
The Daily News Transcript reports: "WALPOLE -- Town Meeting representatives last fall may have solidly rejected a resolution critical of the USA Patriot Act, but its proponents are not ready to throw in the towel. The resolution, which was defeated 79-36 on Oct. 18, has evolved into a warrant article for the spring Town Meeting."
Gonzales condemns torture, wants Patriot Act renewal
"Attorney General-designate Alberto Gonzales offered a less-than-unequivocal answer this month when asked if U.S. personnel could engage in torture under certain circumstances. 'I don't believe so, but I'd want to get back to you on that,' the White House counsel told Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., during a daylong confirmation hearing that focused on the Bush administration's interrogation policies for terrorism suspects and Iraqi prisoners. On Tuesday, he revisited the torture question." The Dallas Morning News reports here.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Internet Group Demands Surveillance Data from DOJ
"A group that defends civil liberties on the Internet has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to determine if the government is secretly gathering information on the surfing habits of citizens. In a copy of the FOIA obtained by TechNewsWorld, the San Francisco-based Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) said, 'Although Internet users reasonably expect that their online reading habits are private, the DOJ will not confirm whether it collects or believes itself authorized to collect URLs using pen-trap devices.'" TechNewsWorld has this article.
High Court Declines to Review Alcohol Test Case
The AP reports: "The Supreme Court declined to consider Tuesday whether a police officer may take a blood test from a suspected drunken driver without a warrant. Justices let stand a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling that said a forced blood test would not violate the driver's Fourth Amendment protection from unreasonable searches, even if the driver already had submitted to a breath test."
Monday, January 17, 2005
GPS spying may prove irresistible to police
"As I write this, my car is parked in The Boston Globe's parking lot. Of course, if you're a cop, you may already know this. It's possible the police have attached an electronic tracking device to my humble Ford Contour, enabling them to track its every voyage. Unlikely, but possible -- and perfectly legal, according to a federal court ruling handed down in New York this month. It seems that police have an unlimited right to use digital technology to track our movements, all in the name of keeping us safe. Somehow, I don't feel any safer." The Boston Globe has this article.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Justices reject search, pot seizure
The Denver Post reports: "Blocks of marijuana found in the 'back room' of a Colorado Springs liquor store can't be used as evidence against the store manager because he could reasonably expect privacy from searches of the back area under the U.S. Constitution, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled Monday. The Constitution's Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures."
Suspicious minds
"THE DNA DRAGNET now underway in Truro is an example of bad police work and bad public policy. Officials in the Truro Police Department, the State Police, and the Cape and Islands district attorney's office should cease this reckless sweep and concentrate on tactics more likely to yield a murder suspect than a constitutional violation." The Boston Globe has this editorial.
Monday, January 10, 2005
ACLU to sue over Bush fracas in Jacksonville
The Mail Tribune reports: "The local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has announced plans to file suit against law enforcement agencies for actions taken against protesters during President Bush’s Oct. 14 campaign visit to Jacksonville. Members of a committee that reviewed the incident say the Oregon State Police, Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, Jacksonville Police Department and other unnamed police agencies became unnecessarily violent after they had ordered approximately 300 people off a section of California Street."
Criminalizing terrorist speech is tempting but wrong
"Should Americans tolerate the invective flung at them by terrorists or their supporters, speech that is not just offensive or hateful but downright scary? Bruce Fein doesn’t think so. He does not believe there should be a haven in our free-speech traditions for 'hate speech teaching that indiscriminate murders are morally justified to further a crazed religious, racial, ethnic or political cause.' Fein believes there is a direct line from such speech to acts of terrorism, and he wants this speech outlawed." The First Amendment Center has this commentary.
Data-mining for civil liberties?
Nat Hentoff writes: "While the ACLU — to combat government bypassing of individual liberties in the name of national security — has engaged in coalitions with the American Conservative Union and other groups with which it is usually at odds, the ACLU leadership has been recently scorning internal dissenters claiming that the executive director and a compliant national board have violated ACLU principles — at a time when the staff is performing invaluable, persistent support of the Constitution in its time of need."
Friday, January 07, 2005
No Cause for Celebration: Why the Supreme Court’s widely praised rulings are bad for America
"If you were relying solely on media accounts for guidance, you would have gotten the impression that the Supreme Court’s June 28 rulings on “enemy combatants” were a clean sweep for civil liberties. With few exceptions, reporters and commentators interpreted the rulings as unwavering affirmations of the judicial branch’s authority in the face of an overreaching executive intent on detaining, indefinitely and incommunicado, citizens and noncitizens designated as enemies in the war on terror." Reason Online has this article.
ACLU says Jacksonville police were too rough with protesters
The Oregonian reports: "Free speech advocates who think police in riot gear unnecessarily manhandled peaceful protesters during President Bush's October visit to Jacksonville are calling for city and county investigations and possible disciplinary action."
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Man Charged Under Patriot Act for Laser
The AP reports: "A man charged with temporarily blinding the pilot and co-pilot of an airplane with a laser beam claims he was simply using the device to look at stars with his 7-year-old daughter. Federal authorities on Tuesday used the Patriot Act to charge David Banach, 38, with interfering with the operator of a mass transportation vehicle and making false statements to the FBI. He is the first person arrested after a recent rash of reports around the nation of lasers being beamed at airplanes."
Legal Experts Disagree on USA PATRIOT Act's Effectiveness and Impact on Civil Rights
"Since the passage of the USA PATRIOT (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) Act in 2001, controversy has surrounded both its effectiveness and its impact on civil rights. A recent survey of top lawyers and legal scholars conducted by Thomson West found that legal experts continue to disagree strongly about the act. These experts also agree that changes to the act are forthcoming." U.S. Newswire has this press release.
Patriot Act provision has banks, planners fretting
"A little-known provision of the Patriot Act could turn an innocuous trip to the bank or chat with a financial planner into a Treasury Department probe of personal financial accounts. One of the less controversial and less publicized parts of the sweeping law enforcement act, aimed at preventing terrorists from laundering money, gives the federal government power to scrutinize financial institutions' customer records." The L.A. Daily News has this article.
Washington Is a Sledgehammer; We Are Nails
"Today, we see the Patriot Act, a law that Lew Rockwell once told me was 'RICO on steroids,' being used not to fight 'terrorism,' but rather to severely punish individuals in order to 'send a message' to the rest of us. Not satisfied with using the Patriot Act against an owner of a Las Vegas strip club (federal prosecutors in Missouri even looked at the possibility of charging the creators of PayPal with Patriot Act violations), federal prosecutors now have decided to put forth the legal fiction that a New Jersey man who was shining a green laser at air traffic near an airport is a 'terrorist.'" LewRockwell.com has this op-ed.
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
The Business of Fighting Terror
"Antiterrorism is an industry. Since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon in 2001, the news has been filled with stories on proposed surveillance and data-mining programs, ranging from the Total Information Awareness system and the MATRIX to CAPPS II and journalist Steven Brill's drive for a private, biometric identification card. Antiterrorism books also form an industry -- albeit a smaller one -- but until Robert O'Harrow Jr., a reporter for The Washington Post, published No Place to Hide ($26, Free Press) this week, the true nature of an ever-growing national surveillance complex was largely unknown." Wired has this review.
Bush's Counsel Sought Ruling About Torture
The New York Times reports: "Alberto R. Gonzales, the White House counsel, intervened directly with Justice Department lawyers in 2002 to obtain a legal ruling on the extent of the president's authority to permit extreme interrogation practices in the name of national security, current and former administration officials said Tuesday."
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Gonzales Torture Memo Controversy Builds
"Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales' confirmation hearing this week may become more contentious because the White House has refused to provide copies of his memos on the questioning of terror suspects." The AP reports here.
Gonzales Nomination Draws Military Criticism
The Washington Post reports: "A dozen high-ranking retired military officers took the unusual step yesterday of signing a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee expressing 'deep concern' over the nomination of White House counsel Alberto R. Gonzales as attorney general, marking a rare military foray into the debate over a civilian post."
Take action to preserve our civil rights
"On Jan. 7, 2002, fewer than three months after the USA Patriot Act was signed into law by President Bush, the City Council of Ann Arbor, Mich., responded by passing a resolution supporting due process, civil liberties and human rights. On Dec. 9 of this year, the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners passed a similarly themed resolution. Between these two dates, some 360 localities and four states acted in parallel by adopting such resolutions." The Oregonian has this commentary.
Monday, January 03, 2005
Gonzales Is Likely to Face Criticism in Hearings
"When the Senate Judiciary Committee begins hearings on Thursday to consider President Bush's nomination of Alberto R. Gonzales to be attorney general, two starkly different portraits of Mr. Gonzales will be on display." The New York Times has this article.
|
|
