Two Groups Challenge Patriot Act
Two organizations, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights, have filed seperate suits challenging sections of the USA Patriot Act. In their suit filed in federal court in Detroit, the ACLU is representing groups that believe they, their clients or members have been, or are, targets of investigations conducted under Section 215 of the act, which amended the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. The Center for Constitutional Rights filed a suit in Los Angeles on behalf of the Humanitarian Law Project that challenges a Patriot Act amendment to the 1996 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act making it a crime to provide "expert advice and assistance" to groups designated as "terrorist" by the secretary of state. Both challenges are expected to face major obstacles, but are bringing attention to controversial aspects of the Patriot Act.
Watching the Watchers The National Law Journal, August 13, 2003
