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• National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: Legal Background and Recent Amendments [Updated March 28,2008]

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  "Five federal statutes authorize intelligence officials to request certain business record information in connection with national security investigations. The authority to issue these national security letters (NSLs) is comparable to the authority to issue administrative subpoenas. The USA PATRIOT Act expanded the authority under four of the NSL statutes and created the fifth. Thereafter, the authority has been reported to have been widely used. Prospects of its continued use dimmed, however, after two lower federal courts held the lack of judicial review and the absolute confidentiality requirements in one of the statutes rendered it constitutionally suspect. The USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3199), P.L. 109-177, and its companion P.L. 109-178, amended the five NSL sections to expressly provide for judicial review of both the NSLs and the confidentiality requirements that attend them. The sections have also been made explicitly judicially enforceable and sanctions recognized for failure to comply with an NSL request or to breach NSL confidentiality requirements with the intent to obstruct justice. The use of the authority has been made subject to greater Congressional oversight."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2008-03-28
• Privacy: An Abbreviated Outline of Federal Statutes Governing Wiretapping and Electronic Eavesdropping [Updated March 26, 2008]

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  "It is a federal crime to intentionally wiretap or electronically eavesdrop on the conversation of another without a court order or the consent of one of the parties to the conversation. Moreover, in eleven states, it is a state crime for anyone other than the police to intentionally wiretap and/or electronically eavesdrop on the conversation of another without the consent of all of the parties to the conversation. The federal crimes are punishable by imprisonment for up to five years and expose offenders to civil liability for damages, attorneys' fees, and possibly punitive damages. State crimes carry similar consequences. Even in states where one party consent interceptions are legal, they may well be contrary to the professional obligations of members of the bar. The proscriptions often include a ban on using or disclosing the fruits of an illegal interception. Statutory exceptions to these general prohibitions permit judicially supervised wiretapping or electronic eavesdropping conducted for law enforcement or foreign intelligence gathering purposes. Similar regimes-proscriptions with exceptions for government access under limited circumstances-exist for telephone records, e-mail and other forms of electronic communications."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles; Stevens, Gina Marie

  2008-03-26
• Terrorism: Some Legal Restrictions on Military Assistance to Domestic Authorities Following a Terrorist Attack [September 14, 2001]

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  "The Constitution empowers to the President to act as Commander in Chief of the armed forces and to see to the execution of federal law; it gives Congress the authority to make federal law including laws for the regulation of the armed forces. The Posse Comitatus Act prohibits use of the armed forces to perform civilian governmental tasks unless explicitly authorized to do so. There are statutory exceptions to ensure continued enforcement of state and federal law, to provide disaster assistance, and to provide technical support for law enforcement. There are constitutional impediments to the use of the military to nationalize an industry, to try civilians, and to compel state officials to perform federally-imposed duties. Unlawful use of the armed forces might result in criminal or civil liability and frustrate prosecution of terrorists. For a more complete discussion, see CRS Report 95-964, 'The Posse Comitatus Act &Related Matters: The Use of the Military to Execute Civilian Law'."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2001-09-14
• Libraries and the USA PATRIOT Act [December 29, 2005]

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  "The USA PATRIOT Act, P.L. 107-56, enacted to help track down and punish terrorists and to prevent further terrorism, contains no provisions specifically directed at libraries or their patrons. It has several provisions, however, that might apply in a library context. The most frequently mentioned of these is Section 215 that amends the business record sections of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). On December 9, 2005, House and Senate conferees reported out the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3199). The House agreed to the conference report on December 14, 2005, but the Senate has yet to take action on it. On December 22, 2005, the House and Senate enacted a bill (S. 2167) that extended the sunset of certain provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act (including section 215), originally set to expire on December 31, 2005, until February 3, 2006. The pending conference version of H.R. 3199 amends section 215 and postpones its expiration until December 31, 2009. Before the USA PATRIOT Act, federal authorities engaged in gathering foreign intelligence information or conducting an investigation of international terrorism could seek a FISA court order for access to hotel, airline, storage locker, or car rental business records. Section 215 amended the procedure so that in a foreign intelligence or international terrorism investigation federal authorities may obtain a FISA order for access to any tangible item no matter who holds it, including by implication library loan records and the records of library computer use. Although past practices have apparently made the library community apprehensive, the extent to which the authority of Section 215 has been used, if at all, is unclear. Media accounts of federal investigations involving library patrons ordinarily do not distinguish between simple inquiries, grand jury subpoenas, criminal search warrants, FISA physical search orders, and FISA tangible item orders. Moreover, the Justice Department has indicated that as of March 30, 2005 the authority under Section 215 had been exercised on 35 occasions, but had not been used in any instance to secure library, bookstore, gun sale or medical records."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Yeh, Brian T.; Doyle, Charles

  2005-12-29
• Privacy: An Overview of Federal Statutes Governing Wiretapping and Electronic Eavesdropping [Updated March 27, 2003]

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  "This report provides an overview of federal law governing wiretapping and electronic eavesdropping. It also surveys state law in the area and contains a bibliography of legal commentary....This report includes a discussion of related USA PATRIOT Act (P.L. 107-56, H.R. 3162; 2001) amendments. In addition to the Patriot Act modifications, it reflects changes contained in the legislation establishing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-296, H.R. 5005), and in the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act (P.L. 107-273, H.R. 2215; 2002)."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles; Stevens, Gina Marie

  2003-03-27
• Extradition Between the United States and Great Britain: The 2003 Treaty [Updated May 6, 2004]

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  "Federal court denial of British extradition requests in the cases of four fugitives from Northern Ireland led to the Supplementary Extradition Treaty. The Treaty proved controversial and before the Senate would give its consent it insisted upon modifications, some quite unusual. Those modifications have been eliminated in a newly negotiated treaty which awaits Senate action and which incorporates features often more characteristic of contemporary extradition treaties with other countries. There has been criticism of the new Treaty's; exemptions to the political offense bar to extradition; elimination of judicial inquiry into politically motivated extradition request; treatment of probable cause; clause relating to extradition for crimes committed overseas; dropping the statute of limitations defense; discretionary authority for provisional arrest and detention; language relating to the seizure of assets; exceptions to the rule of specialty (permitting prosecution for crimes other than those for which extradition was granted); and retroactive application."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2004-05-06
• Probable Cause, Reasonable Suspicion, and Reasonableness Standards in the Context of the Fourth Amendment and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act [January 30, 2006]

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  "This [memorandum] is in response to your request for a brief description of the Fourth Amendments probable cause, reasonable suspicion, and reasonableness standards. In over simplified terms, probable cause 'exist[s] where the known facts and circumstances are sufficient to warrant a man of reasonable prudence in the belief that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found,' Ornelas v. United States, 517 U.S. 690, 696 (1996); Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 238 (1983)."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2006-01-30
• Privacy: An Overview of Federal Statutes Governing Wiretapping and Electronic Eavesdropping [Updated January 13, 2003]

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  "This report provides an overview of federal law governing wiretapping and electronic eavesdropping. It also surveys state law in the area and contains a bibliography of legal commentary. It is a federal crime to wiretap or to use a machine to capture the communications of others without court approval, unless one of the parties has given their prior consent. It is likewise a federal crime to use or disclose any information acquired by illegal wiretapping or electronic eavesdropping. Violations can result in imprisonment for not more than 5 years; fines up to $250,000 (up to $500,000 for organizations); in civil liability for damages, attorneys fees and possibly punitive damages; in disciplinary action against any attorneys involved; and in suppression of any derivative evidence. Congress has created separate but comparable protective schemes for electronic mail (e-mail) and against the surreptitious use of telephone call monitoring practices such as pen registers and trap and trace devices. Each of these protective schemes comes with a procedural mechanism to afford limited law enforcement access to private communications and communications records under conditions consistent with the dictates of the Fourth Amendment. The government has been given even more narrowly confined authority to engage in wiretapping and electronic eavesdropping in the name of foreign intelligence gathering in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles; Stevens, Gina Marie

  2003-01-13
• USA Patriot Act Sunset: Provisions that Expire on December 31, 2005 [Updated January 27, 2005]

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  "The consequences of sunset are not the same for every expiring section. In some instances the temporary provision has been replaced with a permanent one; in some, other provisions have been made temporary by attachment to an expiring section; in still others, the apparent impact of termination has been mitigated by related provisions either in the act or elsewhere. The temporary provisions are: sections 201 (wiretapping in terrorism cases), 202 (wiretapping in computer fraud and abuse felony cases), 203(b) (sharing wiretap information), 203(d) (sharing foreign intelligence information), 204 (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) pen register/trap & trace exceptions), 206 (roving FISA wiretaps), 207 (duration of FISA surveillance of non-United States persons who are agents of a foreign power), 209 (seizure of voice-mail messages pursuant to warrants), 212 (emergency disclosure of electronic surveillance), 214 (FISA pen register/ trap and trace authority), 215 (FISA access to tangible items), 217 (interception of computer trespasser communications), 218 (purpose for FISA orders), 220 (nationwide service of search warrants for electronic evidence), 223 (civil liability and discipline for privacy violations), and 225 (provider immunity for FISA wiretap assistance); and in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, section 6001 ("lone wolf" FISA orders)."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2005-01-27
• Libraries and the USA PATRIOT Act [Updated February 3, 2006]

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  "The USA PATRIOT Act, P.L. 107-56, enacted to help track down and punish terrorists and to prevent further terrorism, contains no provisions specifically directed at libraries or their patrons. It has several provisions, however, that might apply in a library context. The most frequently mentioned of these is Section 215, which amends the business record sections of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). On December 22, 2005, the House and Senate enacted a bill (S. 2167) that extended the sunset of certain provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act (including section 215), originally set to expire on December 31, 2005, until February 3, 2006. On February 2, 2006, Congress passed H.R. 4659, which further extended the sunset to March 10, 2006. The pending conference version of H.R. 3199 amends section 215 and postpones its expiration until December 31, 2009."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles; Yeh, Brian T.

  2006-02-03
• National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: Legal Background and Recent Amendments [March 17, 2006]

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  "Five federal statutes authorize intelligence officials to request certain business record information in connection with national security investigations. The authority to issue these national security letters (NSLs) is comparable to the authority to issue administrative subpoenas. The USA PATRIOT Act expanded the authority under four of the NSL statutes and created the fifth. Thereafter, the authority has been reported to have been widely used. Prospects of its continued use dimmed, however, after two lower federal courts held the lack of judicial review and the absolute confidentiality requirements in one of the statutes rendered it constitutionally suspect. The USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3199), P.L. 109-177, and its companion P.L. 109-178, amended the five NSL sections to expressly provide for judicial review of both the NSLs and the confidentiality requirements that attend them. The sections have also been made explicitly judicially enforceable and sanctions recognized for failure to comply with an NSL request or to breach NSL confidentiality requirements with the intent to obstruct justice. The use of the authority has been made subject to greater Congressional oversight."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2006-03-17
• Material Support of Terrorists and Foreign Terrorist Organizations: Sunset Amendments in Brief [Updated March 17, 2006]

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  "Section 6603 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 amends two federal terrorist assistance prohibitions. Those amendments were to expire on December 31, 2006, P.L. 108-458, 118 Stat. 3762-764 (2004). P.L. 109-160 extended their expiration date until February 3, 2006, 119 Stat. 2957 (2005); P.L. 109-170 extended it yet again until March 10, 2006, 120 Stat. 3 (2006). Section 104 of the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3199), made the amendments permanent, P.L. 109-177, 120 Stat. 195 (2006). In their present form the amendments, found in section 6603 of the act: (1) amend the definitions of 'material support or resources,' 'training,' and 'expert advice or assistance' as those terms are used in 18 U.S.C. 2339A and 2339B, and of 'personnel' as used in section 2339B; (2) add a more explicit knowledge requirement to section 2339B; (3) expand the extraterritorial jurisdiction reach of section 2339B; (4) enlarge the list of federal crimes of terrorism, 18 U.S.C. 2332b(g)(5); (5) add the enlarged list to the inventory of predicate offenses for 18 U.S.C. 2339A (material support for the commission of certain terrorist crimes) and consequently for 18 U.S.C. 2339B (material support for designated terrorist organizations); and (6) preclude prosecution for certain violations committed with the approval of the Secretary of State and concurrence of the Attorney General (e.g., stings)."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2006-03-17
• Federal Habeas Corpus: A Brief Legal Overview [April 26, 2006]

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  "Federal habeas corpus is a procedure under which a federal court may review the legality of an individual's incarceration. It is most often the stage of the criminal appellate process that follows direct appeal and any available state collateral review. The law in the area is an intricate weave of statute and case law. Current federal law operates under the premise that with rare exceptions prisoners challenging the legality of the procedures by which they were tried or sentenced get 'one bite of the apple.' Relief for state prisoners is only available if the state courts have ignored or rejected their valid claims, and there are strict time limits within which they may petition the federal courts for relief. Moreover, a prisoner relying upon a novel interpretation of law must succeed on direct appeal; federal habeas review may not be used to establish or claim the benefits of a 'new rule.' Expedited federal habeas procedures are available in the case of state death row inmates if the state has provided an approved level of appointed counsel. The Supreme Court has held that Congress enjoys considerable authority to limit, but not to extinguish, access to the writ."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2006-04-26
• Federal Habeas Corpus: An Abridged Sketch [April 28, 2006]

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  "Federal habeas corpus as we know it is by and large a procedure under which a federal court may review the legality of an individual's incarceration. It is most often invoked after conviction and the exhaustion of the ordinary means of appeal. It is at once the last refuge of scoundrels and the last hope of the innocent. It is an intricate weave of statute and case law whose reach has flowed and ebbed over time. Current federal law operates under the premise that with rare exceptions prisoners challenging the legality of the procedures by which they were tried or sentenced get 'one bite of the apple.' Relief for state prisoners is only available if the state courts have ignored or rejected their valid claims, and there are strict time limits within which they may petition the federal courts for relief. Moreover, a prisoner relying upon a novel interpretation of law must succeed on direct appeal; federal habeas review may not be used to establish or claim the benefits of a 'new rule.' Expedited federal habeas procedures are available in the case of state death row inmates if the state has provided an approved level of appointed counsel. The Supreme Court has held that Congress enjoys considerable authority to limit, but not to extinguish, access to the writ."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2006-04-28
• USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005: A Legal Analysis [March 24, 2006]

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  "Several sections of the USA PATRIOT Act and one section of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 were originally scheduled to expire on December 31, 2005. In July 2005, both Houses approved USA PATRIOT reauthorization acts, H.R. 3199 and S. 1389, and the conference committee filed a report, H.Rept. 109-333. A separate bill, the USA PATRIOT Act Additional Reauthorizing Amendments Act of 2006 (S. 2271), provided civil liberties safeguards not included in the conference report. Both H.R. 3199 and S. 2271 were signed into law (P.L. 109-177 and P.L. 109-178) by the President on March 9, 2006. This report describes the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 (the Act) and, where appropriate, discusses the modifications to law made by the USA PATRIOT Act Additional Reauthorizing Amendments Act of 2006."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles; Yeh, Brian T.

  2006-03-24
• USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005: A Sketch [March 28, 2006]

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  "Several sections of the USA PATRIOT Act and one section of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 were originally scheduled to expire on December 31, 2005; however, Congress extended their expiration date until March 10, 2006. In July 2005, both Houses approved USA PATRIOT reauthorization acts, H.R. 3199 and S. 1389, and the conference committee filed a report accompanying H.R. 3199, H.Rept. 109-333. A separate bill, the USA PATRIOT Act Additional Reauthorizing Amendments Act of 2006 (S. 2271), provides civil liberties safeguards not included in the conference report. Both H.R. 3199 and S. 2271 were signed into law (P.L. 109-177 and P.L. 109-178) by the President on March 9, 2006. The USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 (the Act) makes permanent 14 of the 16 USA PATRIOT Act sections scheduled to expire at the end of the year. Among other things, the Act provides for greater congressional and judicial oversight of section 215 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) business records orders and section 206 FISA roving wiretaps and calls for both sections to sunset at the end of 2009. It establishes judicial review and enforcement procedures for national security letters. The Act expands law enforcement wiretap authority to cover more than 20 federal crimes. It revises federal criminal provisions relating to seaport and maritime security. The Act reinforces federal money laundering and forfeiture authority, particularly in connection with terrorist offenses. It intensifies federal regulation of foreign and domestic commerce in methamphetamine precursors."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles; Yeh, Brian T.

  2006-03-28
• USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization Proposals and Related Matters in Brief [Updated August 1,2005]

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  "Both Houses have passed proposals to reauthorize USA PATRIOT Act sections scheduled to expire at the end of the year. The House passed H.R. 3199, the USA PATRIOT and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2005 on July 15, 2005, 151 Cong. Rec. H6307. The Senate passed the Judiciary Committee reported S. 1389, the USA PATRIOT and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2005, without amendment. S. 1389 makes permanent all of the expiring USA PATRIOT Act provisions except for sections 206 (roving FISA wiretaps) and 215 (FISA tangible item orders) whose expiration along with that of the lone wolf amendment it postpones until December 31, 2009. H.R. 3199 takes much the same approach but postpones expiration of sections 206 and 215 until December 31, 2015, makes the lone wolf amendment and the 'material support' amendments permanent. Each of the bills amends section 215, the so-called FISA library or business record section, as well as some of the sections they make permanent. Each addresses concerns relating to the use of national security letters. H.R. 3199 alone deals with a wide array of proposals ranging from first responder grants through port security and terrorist penalty enhancements to confiscation expansions."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2005-08-01
• Posse Comitatus Act and Related Matters: The Use of the Military to Execute Civilian Law [Updated June 1, 2000]

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  "The Posse Comitatus Act outlaws willful use of any part of the Army or Air Force to execute the law unless expressly authorized by the Constitution or an Act of Congress. History supplies the grist for an argument that the Constitution prohibits military involvement in civilian affairs subject to only limited alterations by Congress or the President, but the courts do not appear to have ever accepted the argument unless violation of more explicit constitutional command could also be shown. The provision for express constitutional authorization when in fact the Constitution contains no such express authorizations has been explained alternatively as a meaningless political face saving device or as an unartful reference to the President's constitutional powers. The express statutory exceptions include the legislation which allows the President to use military force to suppression insurrection, 10 U.S.C. 331-335, and sections which permit the Department of Defense to provide federal, state and local police with information and equipment, 10 U.S.C. 371-381."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2000-06-01
• USA PATRIOT Act Sunset: A Sketch [Updated June 29, 2005]

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  "Several sections of Title II of the USA PATRIOT Act (the act) and one section of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, each relating to enhanced foreign intelligence and law enforcement surveillance authority, expire on December 31, 2005, unless they are extended. Thereafter, the authority remains in effect only as it relates to foreign intelligence investigations begun before sunset or to offenses or potential offenses begun or occurring before that date. The temporary provisions are: sections 201 (wiretapping in terrorism cases), 202 (wiretapping in computer fraud and abuse felony cases), 203(b) (sharing wiretap information), 203(d) (sharing foreign intelligence information), 204 (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) pen register/trap & trace exceptions), 206 (roving FISA wiretaps), 207 (duration of FISA surveillance of non-United States persons who are agents of a foreign power), 209 (seizure of voicemail messages pursuant to warrants), 212 (emergency disclosure of electronic surveillance), 214 (FISA pen register/ trap and trace authority), 215 (FISA access to tangible items), 217 (interception of computer trespasser communications), 218 (purpose for FISA orders), 220 (nationwide service of search warrants for electronic evidence), 223 (civil liability and discipline for privacy violations), and 225 (provider immunity for FISA wiretap assistance). This report is an abridged version--without footnotes or chart--of CRS Report RL32186, 'USA PATRIOT Act Sunset: Provisions That Expire on December 31, 2005."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2005-06-29
• USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005: A Legal Analysis [Updated December 21, 2006]

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  "Several sections of the USA PATRIOT Act and one section of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 were originally scheduled to expire on December 31, 2005. In July 2005, both Houses approved USA PATRIOT reauthorization acts, H.R. 3199 and S. 1389, and the conference committee filed a report, H.Rept. 109-333. A separate bill, the USA PATRIOT Act Additional Reauthorizing Amendments Act of 2006 (S. 2271), provided civil liberties safeguards not included in the conference report. Both H.R. 3199 and S. 2271 were signed into law (P.L. 109-177 and P.L. 109-178) by the President on March 9, 2006. This report describes the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 (the Act) and, where appropriate, discusses the modifications to law made by the USA PATRIOT Act Additional Reauthorizing Amendments Act of 2006."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles; Yeh, Brian T.

  2006-12-21
• Extradition Between the United States and Great Britain: The 2003 Treaty [Updated October 10, 2006]

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  "Federal court denial of British extradition requests in the cases of four fugitives from Northern Ireland led to the Supplementary Extradition Treaty. The Treaty proved controversial, and before the Senate would give its consent, it insisted upon modifications, some quite unusual. Those modifications have been eliminated in a newly negotiated treaty to which the Senate has recently given its advice and consent and which incorporates features often more characteristic of contemporary extradition treaties with other countries. The Treaty also contains articles relating to capital punishment, waiver of extradition, extradition involving third countries, double jeopardy, the elimination of nationality as a bar to extradition, translations, and deferred prosecution."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2006-10-10
• Extradition Between the United States and Great Britain: A Sketch of the 2003 Treaty [Updated October 10, 2006]

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  "Federal court denial of British extradition requests in the cases of four fugitives from Northern Ireland led to the Supplementary Extradition Treaty. The Treaty proved controversial, and before the Senate would give its consent, it insisted upon modifications, some quite unusual. Those modifications have been eliminated in a newly negotiated treaty to which the Senate has recently given its advice and consent and which incorporates features often more characteristic of contemporary extradition treaties with other countries. The Senate conditioned its approval of the Treaty upon an understanding, two declarations and three provisos which relate to the Treaty's treatment of the exception for politically motivated requests and the role of the courts, its changes in the double jeopardy clause, assurances that the Treaty is not designed to accomplish the extradition of fugitives from Northern Ireland covered by the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, and reporting requirements concerning the disposition of requests under the Treaty. This report is an abridged version (without footnotes or citations) of CRS Report RL32096, 'Extradition Between the United States and Great Britain: The 2003 Treaty.'"

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2006-10-10
• Death Penalty: Capital Punishment Legislation in the 110th Congress [September 7, 2007]

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  "The Death Penalty: Capital Punishment Legislation in the 110th Congress Summary Most capital offenses are state crimes. In 1994, however, Congress revived the death penalty as a federal sentencing option. More than a few federal statutes now proscribe offenses punishable by death. A number of bills have been offered during the 110th Congress to modify federal law in the area. One, S. 447 (Sen. Feingold), would abolish the federal death penalty. Others would increase the number of capital offenses to include one or more newly created offenses or existing non-capital offenses newly designated as capital offenses […]. Numbered among the new capital offenses and newly designated capital offenses are murder related to street gang offenses or Travel Act violations, murder committed during and in relation to drug trafficking, murder committed in the course of evading border inspection, murder of disaster assistance workers, and various terrorism-related murders. A third category of proposals would adjust in one way or another the procedures used to try and sentence capital defendants, including those relating to where a capital offense may be tried, the appointment of counsel in capital cases, the pre-trial notification which the parties must exchange in capital cases, the procedures that apply when the defendant claims to be mentally retarded, adjustments in the statutory aggravating and mitigating circumstances, jury matters, and the site of federal executions."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2007-09-07
• National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: Legal Background and Recent Amendments [Updated March 20, 2007]

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  "Five federal statutes authorize intelligence officials to request certain business record information in connection with national security investigations. The authority to issue these national security letters (NSLs) is comparable to the authority to issue administrative subpoenas. The USA PATRIOT Act expanded the authority under four of the NSL statutes and created the fifth. Thereafter, the authority has been reported to have been widely used. Prospects of its continued use dimmed, however, after two lower federal courts held the lack of judicial review and the absolute confidentiality requirements in one of the statutes rendered it constitutionally suspect. The USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3199), P.L. 109-177, and its companion P.L. 109-178, amended the five NSL sections to expressly provide for judicial review of both the NSLs and the confidentiality requirements that attend them. The sections have also been made explicitly judicially enforceable and sanctions recognized for failure to comply with an NSL request or to breach NSL confidentiality requirements with the intent to obstruct justice. The use of the authority has been made subject to greater Congressional oversight."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2007-03-20
• Extradition To and From the United States: Overview of the Law and Recent Treaties [Updated August 3, 2007]

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  "'Extradition' is the formal surrender of a person by a State to another State for prosecution or punishment. Extradition to or from the United States is a creature of treaty. The United States has extradition treaties with over a hundred of the nations of the world, although they are many with whom it has no extradition treaty. International terrorism and drug trafficking have made extradition an increasingly important law enforcement tool. This is a brief overview of the adjustments made in recent treaties to accommodate American law enforcement interests, and then a nutshell overview of the federal law governing foreign requests to extradite a fugitive found in this country and a United States request for extradition of a fugitive found in a foreign country. Extradition treaties are in the nature of a contract and generate the most controversy with respect to those matters for which extradition may not be had. In addition to an explicit list of crimes for which extradition may be granted, most modern extradition treaties also identify various classes of offenses for which extradition may or must be denied. Common among these are provisions excluding purely military and political offenses; capital offenses; crimes that are punishable under only the laws of one of the parties to the treaty; crimes committed outside the country seeking extradition; crimes where the fugitive is a national of the country of refuge; and crimes barred by double jeopardy or a statute of limitations."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2007-08-03
• Court Security Improvement Act of 2007: H.R. 660/S. 378 in Brief [February 20, 2007]

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  "The Chairmen of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees have introduced the Court Security Improvement Act of 2007, H.R. 660/S. 378 in a form that mirrors legislation that passed the Senate at the close of the 109th Congress. The bill consists of four components: adjustments to applicable provisions of criminal law, reinforcement of the authority and oversight features of the law governing federal judicial security, grant programs to facilitate increased security for the judiciary of the states, and miscellaneous provisions whose relation to judicial security might initially appear remote. This is a brief discussion of the legal background of each component."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2007-02-20
• National Security Letters: Proposals in the 112th Congress [June 30, 2011]

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  "National Security Letters (NSLs) are roughly comparable to administrative subpoenas. Various intelligence agencies use them to demand certain customer information from communications providers, financial institutions, and consumer credit reporting agencies under the Right to Financial Privacy Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the National Security Act, and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. The USA PATRIOT Act expanded NSL authority. Later reports of the Department of Justice's Inspector General indicated that (1) the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] considered the expanded authority very useful; (2) after expansion the number of NSL requests increased dramatically; (3) the number of requests relating to Americans increased substantially; and (4) FBI use of NSL authority had sometimes failed to comply with statutory, Attorney General, or FBI policies. […] This report reprints the text of the five NSL statutes as they now appear and as they appeared prior to amendment by the USA PATRIOT Act (to which form they would be returned under S. 1125 and H.R. 1805). Related reports include CRS [Congressional Research Service] Report R40138, Amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Extended Until June 1, 2015, by Edward C. Liu, and CRS Report RL33320, National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: Legal Background and Recent Amendments, by Charles Doyle."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2011-06-30
• Mail and Wire Fraud: A Brief Overview of Federal Criminal Law [July 21, 2011]

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  "It is a federal crime to devise a scheme to defraud another of property, when either mail or wire communications are used in furtherance of the scheme, 18 U.S.C. 1341, 1343. Mail or wire fraud includes schemes to defraud another of honest services, when the scheme involves bribery or a kick back, 18 U.S.C. 1346; Skilling v. United States, 130 S.Ct. 2896 (2010). In order to convict, the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant (1) used either mail or wire communications in the foreseeable furtherance, (2) of a scheme to defraud, (3) involving a material deception, (4) with the intent to deprive another of, (5) either property or honest services. […] The other federal bribery and kickback offenses include bribery of public officials, federal program bribery, extortion under color of official right, and Medicare/Medicaid kickbacks. Mail and wire fraud are money laundering and racketeering predicate offenses. Numbered among the fraud offenses based on other jurisdiction grounds are the false claims and false statement offenses, bank fraud, health care fraud, securities fraud, and foreign labor contracting fraud. This report is available in an abridged version as CRS [Congressional Research Service] Report R41931, Mail and Wire Fraud: An Abridged Overview of Federal Criminal Law, by Charles Doyle, without the footnotes, appendix, quotation marks, or citations to authority found here. Related CRS reports include CRS Report R40852, Deprivation of Honest Services as a Basis for Federal Mail and Wire Fraud Convictions, by Charles Doyle."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2011-07-21
• Mail and Wire Fraud: An Abridged Overview of Federal Criminal Law [July 21, 2011]

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  "It is a federal crime to devise a scheme to defraud another of property, when either mail or wire communications are used in furtherance of the scheme, 18 U.S.C. 1341, 1343. Mail or wire fraud includes schemes to defraud another of honest services, when the scheme involves bribery or a kick back, 18 U.S.C. 1346; Skilling v. United States, 130 S.Ct. 2896 (2010). In order to convict, the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant (1) used either mail or wire communications in the foreseeable furtherance, (2) of a scheme to defraud, (3) involving a material deception, (4) with the intent to deprive another of, (5) either property or honest services. […] The other federal bribery and kickback offenses include bribery of public officials, federal program bribery, extortion under color of official right, and Medicare/Medicaid kickbacks. Mail and wire fraud are money laundering and racketeering predicate offenses. Numbered among the fraud offenses based on other jurisdiction grounds are the false claims and false statement offenses, bank fraud, health care fraud, securities fraud, and foreign labor contracting fraud. This is an abridged version of CRS Report R41930, Mail and Wire Fraud: A Brief Overview of Federal Criminal Law, by Charles Doyle, without the footnotes, appendix, quotation marks, or citations to authority found in the longer version. Related CRS reports include CRS Report R40852, Deprivation of Honest Services as a Basis for Federal Mail and Wire Fraud Convictions, by Charles Doyle."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2011-07-21
• Government Collection of Private Information: Background and Issues Related to the USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization [June 16, 2011]

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  "Congress enacted the USA PATRIOT Act soon after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The most controversial sections of the act facilitate the federal government's collection of more information, from a greater number of sources, than had previously been authorized in criminal or foreign intelligence investigations. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), and the national security letter (NSL) statutes were all bolstered. With the changes came greater access to records showing an individual's spending and communication patterns as well as increased authority to intercept e-mail and telephone conversations and to search homes and businesses. In some cases, evidentiary standards required to obtain court approval for the collection of information were lowered. Other approaches included expanding the scope of information subject to search, adding flexibility to the methods by which information could be collected, and broadening the purposes for which information may be sought. […] Subsequent legislation made most of these changes permanent. However, a number of authorities affecting the collection of foreign intelligence information are still temporary. Three such provisions (the lone wolf, roving wiretap, and business record sections of FISA) are set to expire on June 1, 2015. Additionally, provisions added by the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, relating to the use of foreign intelligence tools to target individuals while they are reasonably believed to be abroad, will expire on December 31, 2012."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles; Liu, Edward C.

  2011-06-16