Flyboy
April 7, 2005, 11:08 AM
http://www.reason.com/links/links040605.shtml
What's striking is how weak the case for the PATRIOT Act's vital necessity as an anti-terror measure appears even when we focus on the Department of Justice's handpicked examples, as provided in their "Report from the Field." Law enforcement's proud displays of PATRIOT's effectiveness involve drug interdiction, computer hackings, child pornography, gambling, and a variety of other crimes notable for not being terrorism.
When Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) noted that of 155 sneak-and-peak searches conducted under section 213's authority—108 in the last 22 months alone—some 92 relied upon the catchall rationale for nondisclosure: Revealing a search had taken place risked "jeopardizing an investigation." Which presumably means that those instances were not cases where disclosure of the search risked imminent harm to persons or property, suspect flight, destruction of evidence, or intimidation of witnesses. What, Specter wanted to know, were these other cases that required special "sneak-and peek-searches?"
Director Mueller offered a story about intercepting Ecstasy imports from Canada.
What's striking is how weak the case for the PATRIOT Act's vital necessity as an anti-terror measure appears even when we focus on the Department of Justice's handpicked examples, as provided in their "Report from the Field." Law enforcement's proud displays of PATRIOT's effectiveness involve drug interdiction, computer hackings, child pornography, gambling, and a variety of other crimes notable for not being terrorism.
When Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) noted that of 155 sneak-and-peak searches conducted under section 213's authority—108 in the last 22 months alone—some 92 relied upon the catchall rationale for nondisclosure: Revealing a search had taken place risked "jeopardizing an investigation." Which presumably means that those instances were not cases where disclosure of the search risked imminent harm to persons or property, suspect flight, destruction of evidence, or intimidation of witnesses. What, Specter wanted to know, were these other cases that required special "sneak-and peek-searches?"
Director Mueller offered a story about intercepting Ecstasy imports from Canada.