Patriot Act Unconstitutional

“Surveillance powers granted to the FBI under the Patriot Act, a cornerstone of the Bush Administration’s war on terror, were ruled unconstitutional by a judge on Wednesday in a new blow to U.S. security policies.

U.S. District Judge Victor Marreo, in the first decision against a surveillance portion of the act, ruled for the American Civil Liberties Union in its challenge against what it called ‘unchecked power’ by the FBI to demand confidential customer records from communication companies, such as Internet service providers or telephone companies.

Marrero, stating that ‘democracy abhors undue secrecy,’ found that the law violates constitutional prohibitions against unreasonable searches. He said it also violated free speech rights by barring those who received FBI demands from disclosing they had to turn over records. “