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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 3-page paper discusses Section 215 of the U.S. Patriot Act, and how it should be rewritten or amended so it infringes less on civil liberties and does the job its supposed to do. Bibliography lists 1 source.
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_MTuspata.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
been the subject of controversy and concern because some of the sections have led certain parties to believe that civil liberties are being violated.
One such section is section 215. Section 215, in its most basic form, allows records -- such as financial, library records, travel,
cell phones and so on -- to be searched without an individuals knowledge or consent, so long as the government suspects terrorism (Lithwick and Turner, 2003). Some of the more
frightening aspects of 215 involve the fact that if someone is even suspected of terrorism (as in, this person might, say, send an e-mail even joking about blowing up a
building to someone else), that persons records could be searched. Before the Patriot Act, the government needed probable cause and a search warrant to access private records, using the Fourth
Amendment as its basis (Lithwick and Turner, 2003). While grand juries were always able to subpoena private records in the past, Section 215 does two things -- first, it means
that the grand jury process can be circumvented, and second, it means that investigators can search records secretly (Lithwick and Turner, 2003). Another part that has people scared is that
the "things" searched go beyond the business records as the Department of Justice notes, and means that it can search "any tangible thing," such as books, papers, documents and so
on -- even a doctors office would have to turn over records, if ordered under the Patriot Act (Lithwick and Turner, 2003). Even worse, the individual being searched will have
no knowledge of the fact -- as the person turning over the records is not supposed to say anything (Lithwick and Turner, 2003).
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