[ql06] CONLAW: Part of USA PATRIOT Act Void for Uncertainty
- From: Stephen Kennedy <2srk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: ql06@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 22:09:15 -0500
*Federal Judge Rules Part of Patriot Act Unconstitutional*
The Associated Press
Monday 26 January 2004
LOS ANGELES - A federal judge has declared unconstitutional a portion
of the USA Patriot Act that bars giving expert advice or assistance to
groups designated foreign terrorist organizations.
The ruling marks the first court decision to declare a part of the
post-Sept. 11 anti-terrorism statute unconstitutional, said David Cole,
a Georgetown University law professor who argued the case on behalf of
the Humanitarian Law Project.
In a ruling handed down late Friday and made available Monday, U.S.
District Judge Audrey Collins said the ban on providing "expert advice
or assistance" is impermissibly vague, in violation of the First and
Fifth Amendments.
John Tyler, the Justice Department attorney who argued the case, had
no comment and referred calls to the department press office in
Washington. A message left there was not immediately returned.
The case before the court involved five groups and two U.S. citizens
seeking to provide support for lawful, nonviolent activities on behalf
of Kurdish refugees in Turkey.
The Humanitarian Law Project, which brought the lawsuit, said the
plaintiffs were threatened with 15 years in prison if they advised
groups on seeking a peaceful resolution of the Kurds' campaign for
self-determination in Turkey.
The judge's ruling said the law, as written, does not differentiate
between impermissible advice on violence and encouraging the use of
peaceful, nonviolent means to achieve goals.
"The USA Patriot Act places no limitation on the type of expert advice
and assistance which is prohibited and instead bans the provision of all
expert advice and assistance regardless of its nature," the judge said.
Cole declared the ruling "a victory for everyone who believes the war
on terrorism ought to be fought consistent with constitutional principles."
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