Anil Gangolli
Collected Bits - Home Page and Personal Weblog
District Court curbs FBI secret probe power
Recent revisions of the Patriot Act have given the FBI power not only to force communication companies including phone companies and ISPs to turn over records without a warrant or any court authorization, but also to be able to force the companies not to tell anyone, customers or others, that they had revealed the information.
A district court judge has ruled that this violates the First Amendment and separation of powers, but is delaying enforcing the decision pending appeal.
From this New York Times article
Posted at 07:19PM Sep 06, 2007 in dogma | Permalink
Restoring habeas corpus
At last, the Fourth District Court of Appeals has ruled that the government can’t continue to hold people under military detention indefinitely without right of habeas corpus simply by calling them “enemy combatants”.
It was a 2-1 decision and it’s likely to go up to the Supreme Court. Let’s hope it holds.
Posted at 02:37PM Jun 11, 2007 in dogma | Permalink