The Patriot Act and You

George W. Bush calls it "vital legislation" that protects us from the threat of terrorism; John Kerry says "there are good parts to it and bad parts to it"; the ACLU claims it threatens "the very rights and freedoms that we are struggling to protect." The Patriot Act has been condemned by librarians and by city councils from Los Angeles to Philadelphia. But how does the law affect you? Below, a visual survey of how a (particularly unlucky) U.S. citizen might run afoul of the "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001."

SECTION 213: Changes standards for search warrants to allow "sneak and peek" searches in any investigation. Instead of serving the warrant in person, a federal agent can now snoop first and let you know later--often much later. SECTION 218: Expands an excpetion to the Fourth Amendment, allowing secret U.S. courts to authorize secret searches if the government can allege a foreign-intelligence rationale. Any evidence discovered can now be used in court.

SECTION 206: Permits "roving wiretaps," which allow the government to tap all phones or computers a suspect might use-- including, say, those at a neighborhood pool hall or Internet cafe. Unconnected third parties can easily be swept into this wider net. Along with SECTION 220, it curtails judicial oversight of such wiretaps.

SECTION 214: By claiming relevance to a terrorism investigation, the government can track your incoming and outgoing calls without a warrant or probable cause.

SECTION 216: Allows, with a judge's approval, Internet wiretaps to be used in any criminal investigation. Authorities are supposed to be limited to collecting address information, not "content" But privacy advocates note that web addresses provide a direct path to content.

SECTION 215: Without demonstrating probable cause, the FBI can obtain a subpoena to search your personal records held by a library, bookstore, church, bank, video store, etc. The subpoena cannot be challenged in court, and it includes a "gag order" to keep you from ever knowing it was served. SECTION 505: Just like 215, but there's no judge required. Anyone from John Ashcroft down to an FBI field officer can demand the same kinds of records simply by issuing a "national security letter." The agent has only to satisfy himself that the information might be "relevant" to an ongoing terror investigation.

SECTION 802. Defines the new crime of "domestic terrorism" as illegal acts "dangerous to human life" that "appear to be intended" to influence government policy by "intimidation or coercion." The vague wording has activists ranging from environmentalists to antiabortionists worried that their civil disobedience might be reclassified as terror. SECTION 806: Allows the Justice Department-- without a hearing-to seize the assets of alleged domestic terrorists and their supporters.

Declared Unconstitutional: SECTION 805(a)(2)(B): Banned giving "expert advice or assistance" to government-designated "foreign terrorist organizations." A federal judge tossed out this provision. noting that its "impermissibly vague" language could encompass "pure speech and advocacy protected by the First Amendment."