The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution

[Breeze54]

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution

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.

[NattPang]

1. So what is happening tomorrow that didn't already happen? sadly she asks

Executive Summary
USAPA II, like its predecessor, is a grab bag of provisions spread throughout the legal landscape. One clear difference exists however. Unlike USAPA, USAPA II has no provisions that "sunset" after a certain time. All of its changes are permanent.

The breadth of USAPA II does make it difficult to break the bill down into neat categories. Nonetheless, many of the changes do fall into general areas. These are: 4

Privacy Invasions. USAPA II dramatically widens the powers of government to invade the privacy of Americans and others living here. This includes:
Broad new authority to compel information from ISPs, friends, relatives, businesses and others, all without informing you.

Immunity for businesses that voluntarily turn over your information to law enforcement.

Extra punishment for use of cryptography-- no connection to terrorism needed.

Instant police access to your credit reports upon certification that they are sought "in connection with their duties" -- again, with no connection to terrorism needed.

Relaxed requirement of specificity for warrants for multi-use devices like PDAs and computers with telephonic capabilities.

DNA collected from all terrorism suspects/DNA database information open to all law enforcement.
Less judicial oversight of surveillance.

More "End Runs" Around Limitations on Surveillance and Information Sharing. Federal, state and local officials can now freely share information, regardless of the original reason for gathering it. This includes information in your credit reports, educational records and visa records. It also includes information obtained by administrative subpoenas of any business, from your ISP to your credit card company to your grocer. It also includes DNA database information and information obtained through the secret court processes of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Much of this sharing need not have any relationship to terrorism investigation.

Gag Orders and Increased Governmental Secrecy. The "sunshine of public review" is a key check on abuses of governmental power. But USAPA II makes it even harder for the public to evaluate what the government is doing with its broad new powers. USAPA II allows gag orders for subpoenas that force third parties to turn over information about their friends, loved ones or customers while making it unlawful for them to tell anyone except their lawyers about the subpoena. In a similar vein, the law creates broad new exceptions to the Freedom of Information Act for terrorism detainee information, prevents the Environmental Protection Agency from warning the public about environmental dangers from chemical releases and reduces the ability of judges to force the government to present its evidence in open court.

Expanded Reach of Powers under the Control of Secret Courts. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) was enacted more than 20 years ago to handle the special problem of non-criminal investigation of foreign intelligence activities in the United States. For this limited purpose, Congress established an unprecedented secret court system. USAPA expanded the reach of FISA and the secret court dramatically, and USAPA II goes even further. Under USAPA II, the secret court will be able to authorize searches of individuals with no connection to foreign governments or even terrorist organizations. It will increase the length of surveillance and decrease court oversight from the already low levels set by USAPA.

Not Targeted to Terrorism. As with its predecessor, USAPA II contains many provisions that appear to be nothing more than an opportunistic attempt to increase governmental powers in areas unrelated to terrorism. In other areas, while terrorism is included, the provisions are not limited to terrorism-related investigations. These include government access to credit reports, sentence enhancements for using encryption, and sharing of some FISA-obtained information.
http://w2.eff.org/Censorship/Terrorism_militias/patriot-act-II-analysis.php

[Breeze54]

2. They needed a warrant from the FISA court.

[NattPang]

3. So this new bill offers no oversight?

This bill abolishes FISA Courts?

[Breeze54]

5. I guess you didn't read what I posted previously- Stop asking stupid questions and start reading!!!

:grr:

[NattPang]

4. Because of what I have read, this FISA Bill does require warrants.

Question 2) Why is he supporting the FISA compromise

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/370010_wiretap09....

a) There is another piece of legislation that is much worse that already has the necessary votes

The fact is that the alternative to Congress passing this bill is Congress enacting far worse legislation that the Senate already had passed by a filibuster-proof margin, and which a majority of House members were on record as supporting.

b) It creates Congressional oversight (where it used to be exclusively the territory of the Executive branch)

What's more, this bill provides important safeguards for civil liberties. It includes effective mechanisms for oversight of the new surveillance authorities by the FISA court, the House and Senate Intelligence Committees and now the Judiciary Committees. It mandates reports by inspectors general of the Justice Department, the Pentagon and intelligence agencies that will provide the committees with the information they need to conduct this oversight. (The reports by the inspectors general will also provide accountability for the potential unlawful misconduct that occurred during the Bush administration.)

c) It expands protections for Americans overseas

Finally, the bill for the first time requires FISA court warrants for surveillance of Americans overseas.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/370010_wiretap09.html