MESSAGE
| DATE | 2004-01-26 |
| FROM | Mike Richardson - NYLXS PRESIDENT
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [hangout] Re: on iwon.com news
|
On Mon, 26 Jan 2004, Michael L. Richardson wrote:
> On Mon, 2004-01-26 at 21:38, Michael L. Richardson wrote:
> > Judge Rules Part of Patriot Act Unlawful
> >
> > Email this Story
> >
> > Jan 26, 9:13 PM (ET)
> >
> > By LINDA DEUTSCH
> >
> > LOS ANGELES (AP) - For the first time, a federal judge has thrown out a
> > section of the USA Patriot Act that bars giving expert advice or
> > assistance to groups designated foreign terrorist organizations.
> >
> > In a ruling handed down late Friday and made available Monday, U.S.
> > District Judge Audrey Collins said the ban is impermissibly vague in its
> > wording.
> >
> > The U.S. Justice Department is reviewing the ruling, spokesman Mark
> > Corallo said in a statement from Washington.
> >
> > Corallo called the Patriot Act - the federal anti-terrorism statute
> > passed in the aftermath of Sept. 11 - "an essential tool in the war on
> > terror" and asserted that the portion at issue in the ruling was only a
> > modest amendment to a pre-existing anti-terrorism law.
> >
> >
> > David Cole, a Georgetown University law professor who argued the case on
> > behalf of the Humanitarian Law Project, declared the ruling "a victory
> > for everyone who believes the war on terrorism ought to be fought
> > consistent with constitutional principles."
> >
> > "It is the first federal court decision declaring any part of the
> > Patriot Act unconstitutional," he said.
> >
> > The case before the court involved five groups and two U.S. citizens
> > seeking to provide support for lawful, nonviolent activities on behalf
> > of Kurdish refugees in Turkey.
> >
> > The Los Angeles-based Humanitarian Law Project said the plaintiffs were
> > threatened with 15 years in prison if they advised groups on seeking a
> > peaceful resolution of the Kurds' campaign for self-determination in
> > Turkey.
> >
> > The judge's ruling said the law, as written, does not differentiate
> > between impermissible advice on violence and encouraging the use of
> > peaceful, nonviolent means to achieve goals.
> >
> > "The USA Patriot Act places no limitation on the type of expert advice
> > and assistance which is prohibited and instead bans the provision of all
> > expert advice and assistance regardless of its nature," the judge said.
> >
> > The ruling specified that the plaintiffs seek to provide support to "the
> > lawful, nonviolent activities" of the Kurdistan Workers' Party and the
> > Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, an advocate group for the Tamil people
> > in Sri Lanka. Both groups are on a list issued by former Secretary of
> > State Madeline Albright in 1997 of "foreign terrorist organizations."
> >
> > In Sri Lanka, the Tamil Tiger rebels have been engaged in a two-decade
> > civil war that has killed more than 65,000 people. Turkey's military has
> > been battling Kurdish rebels seeking autonomy since 1984, a fight that
> > has left some 37,000 people dead.
> >
> > Under the Patriot Act, the U.S. prohibition on providing "material
> > support" or "resources" to terrorist groups was expanded to include
> > "expert advice or assistance."
> >
> > The ruling follows a December decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of
> > Appeals to overturn portions of a sweeping 1996 anti-terror law which
> > preceded the Patriot Act. A three-judge panel found the law's reference
> > to financial assistance or "material support" to terrorist organizations
> > was overbroad.
> >
> > The government has asked for a rehearing of the three-judge decision by
> > the entire circuit court.
> >
> > Another challenge to the Patriot Act is pending in Detroit. In that
> > case, the American Civil Liberties Union argued that the law gives
> > federal agents unlimited and unconstitutional authority to secretly
> > seize library reading lists and other personal records.
>
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