Federal Judge Says Patriot Act Too Vague

[Rose Siding]

LOS ANGELES -- A federal judge has ruled that some provisions of the U.S. Patriot Act dealing with foreign terrorist organizations remain too vague to be understood by a person of average intelligence and are therefore unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Audrey Collins found that Congress failed to remedy all the problems she defined in a 2004 ruling that struck down key provisions of the act. Her decision was handed down Thursday and released Friday.


"Even as amended, the statute fails to identify the prohibited conduct in a manner that persons of ordinary intelligence can reasonably understand," the ruling said.

Collins issued an injunction against enforcement of the sections she found vague but specified that her ruling applies only to the named plaintiffs and does not constitute a nationwide injunction.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/29/AR2005072901660.html

[acmavm]

1. Way to go Judge Collins. The whole frigging thing is 'vague' for lack

of a better world? How many pages is it now>?

[uppityperson]

2. Good. Nice to see a judge that can think.

"persons of ordinary intelligence " leaves out the administration

[mike_c]

3. there goes her shot at a supreme court appointment....

eom

[ovidsen]

4. What the hell's the problem??

What's wrong with the Patriot Act?? All it does is severely restrict or prohibit actions or behavior that is unpatriotic!

And that's easy to define! It's... ummm, er... it's.... ahhhh, you see, like, it's.... it's just that... it's.... (scratch)... errr....

[Gyre]

5. That is probably it's Achille's heel.

They don't like it when you force them to articulate what they really want. Kinda like cockroaches and light.

Gyre

[Demeter]

6. I Always Thought It Was Too Much

too specific, too overreaching, too unconstitutional.

[merwin]

7. The supreme court shouldn't be able to restrict rulings only to one

particular case. If it's unconstitutional for one person, it's unconstitutional for EVERYONE. Period.