U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero

Judge Strikes Down Part of Patriot Act

September 6, 2007 by The Associated Press

A federal judge struck down parts of the revised USA Patriot
Act on Thursday, saying investigators must have a court’s
approval before they can order Internet providers to turn over
records without telling customers.

U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero said the government orders
must be subject to meaningful judicial review and that the
recently rewritten Patriot Act "offends the fundamental
constitutional principles of checks and balances and
separation of powers.

The American Civil Liberties Union had challenged the law,
complaining that it allowed the FBI to demand records without
the kind of court order required for other government
searches.

The ACLU said it was improper to issue so-called national
security letters, or NSLs - investigative tools used by the
FBI to compel businesses to turn over customer information -
without a judge’s order or grand jury subpoena. Examples of
such businesses include Internet service providers, telephone
companies and public libraries.

Yusill Scribner, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office,
said prosecutors had no immediate comment.

Jameel Jaffer, who argued the case for the ACLU, said the
revised law had wrongly given the FBI sweeping authority to
control speech because the agency was allowed to decide on its