Rule of Law

Brandon Mayfield, and wife Mona

And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom,
and they can’t take that away
--Proud to Be an American, Lee Greenwood
________

Here is democracy in action: for the second time in as many weeks, provisions of the USA Patriot Act have been found unconstitutional (Patriot Act Provisions Voided).

"In a case brought by a Portland man who was wrongly detained as a terrorism suspect in 2004, U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken ruled that the Patriot Act violates the Constitution because it 'permits the executive branch of government to conduct surveillance and searches of American citizens without satisfying the probable cause requirements of the Fourth Amendment.'

"'For over 200 years, this Nation has adhered to the rule of law -- with unparalleled success,' Aiken wrote in a strongly worded 44-page opinion. 'A shift to a Nation based on extra-constitutional authority is prohibited, as well as ill-advised.'"

Kudos to Judge Aiken both for her eloquence and clear-sightedness. And thanks to a stroke of serendipity that this was not just any citizen whose rights were abrogated; this was an attorney.

"Brandon Mayfield, a lawyer who was arrested and jailed for two weeks in 2004 after the FBI bungled a fingerprint match and mistakenly linked him to a terrorist attack in Spain. The FBI used its expanded powers under the Patriot Act to secretly search Mayfield's house and law office, copy computer files and photos, tape his telephone conversations, and place surveillance bugs in his office. . ."

This hysteria-birthed act will soon be whittled into irrelevance.

--Lisa