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Patriot Act reach now extends beyond terrorism
(David B. Caruso, Associated Press, September 15, 2003)
In the two years since law enforcement agencies gained fresh powers to track down and punish terrorists, police and prosecutors have increasingly turned the force of the new laws not on al-Qaeda cells but on people charged with common crimes. . . . A North Carolina county prosecutor charged a man accused of running a methamphetamine lab with breaking a new state law barring the manufacture of chemical weapons. If convicted, Martin Dwayne Miller could get 12 years to life in prison for a crime that usually brings about six months. . . . Prosecutor Jerry Wilson said he isn't abusing the law, which defines chemical weapons of mass destruction as "any substance that is designed or has the capability to cause death or serious injury" and contains toxic chemicals. . . . Civil liberties and legal defense groups are bothered by the cases and say the government soon will be using harsh anti-terrorism laws against run-of-the-mill lawbreakers. . . . "Within six months of passing the Patriot Act, the Justice Department was conducting seminars on how to stretch the new wiretapping provisions to extend them beyond terror cases," said Dan Dodson, National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys spokesman. "They say they want the Patriot Act to fight terrorism, then, within six months, they are teaching their people how to use it on ordinary citizens." . . . The law, passed two months after the Sept. 11 attacks, erased many restrictions that had barred the government from spying on its citizens, granting agents new powers to use wiretaps, conduct electronic and computer eavesdropping and access financial data. . . . Stefan Cassella, deputy chief for legal policy for the Justice Department's asset forfeiture and money laundering section, said that while the Patriot Act's primary focus was on terrorism, lawmakers were aware it contained provisions that had been on prosecutors' wish lists for years and would be used in a wide variety of cases. . . . The complaint that anti-terrorism legislation is being used to go after people who aren't terrorists is just the latest in a string of criticisms. . . . More than 150 local governments have passed resolutions opposing the law as an overly broad threat to constitutional rights.

posted by LoZo 5:58 PM