Legal Ramifications of National Security

The effect of national-security laws and policies on the legal status and personal freedoms of Americans. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, significantly altered official American views on the balance between the rights of citizens and the responsibility of the government to safeguard the nation. The fact that a handful of largely untrained terrorists could cause so much destruction led the government to question the effectiveness of existing antiterror laws and procedures.

Changes in the laws since September 11 have expanded the ability of the federal government to gather information about possible terrorist activities and detain those suspected of being terrorists. However, many people feel that the new laws—in particular, the USA PATRIOT Act (2001)—give the federal government too much power to interfere in the lives of American citizens without adequately protecting their civil rights.

The USA Patriot Act

On October 26, 2001, President George W. Bush signed into law the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001—better known as the USA PATRIOT Act. The act changed a number of laws related to various areas of government activity, including criminal investigation procedures, wiretapping and electronic surveillance, computer fraud, money laundering, foreign intelligence, and immigration procedures. The PATRIOT Act and other new laws passed since the terrorist attacks of 2001 are intended to make it easier for the government to gather and act on intelligence about possible terrorist activities. They also give the government much more freedom to determine who is a terrorist and to suspend many of the constitutional freedoms for individuals accused of terrorism.

Some of the most controversial provisions of the act are those that significantly increase the government's [Page 428]ability to obtain information about citizens without the need to obtain a warrant to do so. For example, prior to passage of the USA PATRIOT Act, government and law-enforcement agencies could wiretap a phone line or obtain certain personal information about an individual only as part of an investigation of a known crime.

Under the USA PATRIOT Act, however, such surveillance techniques can be used even when the government only suspects that an individual may be planning some terrorist activity. This includes searching legal records, as well as medical, financial, and e-mail records, and even records of books borrowed from public libraries. Another provision in the act allows officials to wiretap any phone a terrorist suspect might possibly use, rather than restricting them to tapping specific phone numbers.

The USA PATRIOT Act also makes it much easier for the government to detain and deport foreign citizens suspected of involvement with terrorism. Prior to passage of the act, the government had to file a formal criminal charge to detain an alien in the United States. Under the new law, foreign nationals can be detained without specific charges filed against them. The original version of the act also gave the government the right to hold suspected terrorists indefinitely without charges, but the period of detention was eventually shortened to seven days. The law also allows American citizens who are classified by the government as terrorists to be held indefinitely without charges or access to legal counsel.

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