Submission + - Judge strikes down two PATRIOT act provisions (cnn.com)
Barraketh writes: Judge Aiken struck down two provisions of the PATRIOT act which allowed for search warrants without probable cause. In 1978, the FISA court was established, which could issue a search warrant as long as the primary purpose of the search was gathering of foreign intelligence information. The PATRIOT act relaxed this requirement to a significant purpose. This allowed the FBI to search anyone they claim to be 'an agent of a foreign power'. The FISA warrants also allowed the FBI to bypass the requirement to 'describe with particularity' the things to be seized and place to be searched in order to obtain the warrant. These provisions were deemed to violate the Fourth Amendment. Read full opinion here.