The Bill of Rights Defense Committee reports:
PATRIOT Act Declared Unconstitutional - Thank You Brandon Mayfield!
Portland attorney Brandon Mayfield was once accused of participating in the March 2004 Madrid bombing, because the FBI refused to believe Spanish National Police that Mayfield's fingerprint did not match. Today, Mayfield is a real American hero. After being released by the government in May 2004 because he was completely innocent, and after winning a $2 million settlement from the government, Mayfield didn't stop working for justice. He insisted that parts of the PATRIOT Act are unconstitutional, and he hired attorney Gerry Spence to help him prove it.
On Wednesday (Sep 26), Federal Judge Ann Aiken (U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon) ruled two provisions of the PATRIOT Act unconstitutional -- specifically, Section 213, the "sneak and peek" provision and Section 218 amending the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which were used to search and wiretap Mayfield's home and office. "The Fourth Amendment has served this nation well for 220 years, through many other perils," Aiken wrote in her decision.
Federal Judge Rules 2 PATRIOT Act Provisions Unconstitituional
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/26/patriot.act/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/27/washington/27patriot.html
Judge Aiken's 44-page decision:
http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2007/images/09/26/mayfield.patriotact.summary.judgment.pdf
Aiken wrote, "In place of the Fourth Amendment, the people are expected to defer to the executive branch and its representation that it will authorize such surveillance only when appropriate." She continued, by saying the government "is asking this court to, in essence, amend the Bill of Rights, by giving it an interpretation that would deprive it of any real meaning. The court declines to do so." Finally, a federal judge has named what the government has done via the PATRIOT Act -- amended the Bill of Rights without using the constitutional process for amending the Constitution.
We can thank Brandon Mayfield by continuing to work locally with allies to fight back against the PATRIOT Act, and all the other unconstitutional Department of Justice orders, signing statements, executive orders, and laws passed by Congress since 9/11 that have grossly infringed upon our Bill of Rights protections against governmental excess. Let's mark the anniversary of the PATRIOT Act on October 26 this year with assurance that our efforts to win back the Bill of Rights will prevail! (BORDC has a video documenting the FBI abuses of its PATRIOT Act-enhanced NSL powers that you can show locally to stimulate public discussion. http://fbiunbound.org )
Restoration of habeas corpus, an end to warrantless wiretapping, and sharp curbs on National Security Letters are three issues before Congress right now. Let's show Brandon Mayfield that we will stand up for justice too!
Contact Congress.
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