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

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  From the Summary: "Several sections of the USA PATRIOT [Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism] 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. [Public Law] 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 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
• Material Support of Terrorists and Foreign Terrorist Organizations: Sunset Amendments [Updated March 17, 2006]

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  "Section 6603 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA) temporarily amended 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 response to court decisions that found certain of their central terms unconstitutionally vague, section 6603 amended the federal statutes that outlaw assistance to terrorists and foreign terrorist organizations, 18 U.S.C. 2339A, 2339B. Initial judicial reaction suggests they may still be considered vague. Section 6603 temporarily rejected a narrow construction of the knowledge requirements under section 2339B, an interpretation which might have dissipated any vagueness problems."

  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
• Administrative Subpoenas in Criminal Investigations: A Brief Legal Analysis [March 17, 2006]

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  "Administrative subpoena authority is the power vested in various administrative agencies to compel testimony or the production of documents or both in aid of the agencies' performance of their duties. Administrative subpoenas are not a traditional tool of criminal law investigation, but neither are they unknown. Several statutes at least arguably authorize the use of administrative subpoenas primarily or exclusively for use in a criminal investigation in cases involving health care fraud, child abuse, Secret Service protection, controlled substance cases, and Inspector General investigations. As a constitutional matter, the Fourth Amendment only demands that administrative subpoenas be reasonable, a standard that requires that 1) they satisfy the terms of the authorizing statute, 2) the documents requested are relevant to the investigation, 3) the information sought is not already in the government's possession, and 4) enforcing the subpoena will not constitute an abuse of the court's process. Although more extensive proposals were offered in the 108th Congress, the law enforcement related administrative subpoena proposals in the 109th Congress appear in S. 600, relating to the Secretary of State's responsibilities to protect U.S. foreign missions and foreign dignitaries visiting this country; in H.R. 3726, relating to federal obscenity investigations; and in H.R. 4170, relating to the apprehension of fugitives charged with, or convicted of, federal or state felonies."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2006-03-17
• Administrative Subpoenas in Criminal Investigations: A Sketch [March 17, 2006]

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  "Administrative subpoena authority is the power vested in various administrative agencies to compel testimony or the production of documents or both in aid of the agencies' performance of their duties. Both the President and Members of Congress have called for statutory adjustments relating to the use of administrative subpoenas in criminal investigations. One lower federal court has found the sweeping gag orders and lack of judicial review that mark one of the national security letter practices constitutionally defective. Proponents of expanded use emphasize the effectiveness of administrative subpoenas as an investigative tool and question the logic of its availability in drug and health care fraud cases but not in terrorism cases. Critics suggest that it is little more than a constitutionally suspect 'trophy' power, easily abused and of little legitimate use. Proposals in the 109th Congress for greater use of administrative subpoenas in a law enforcement context appear in S. 600, relating to the Secretary of State's responsibilities to protect U.S. foreign missions and foreign dignitaries visiting this country; in H.R. 3726, relating to federal obscenity investigations; and in H.R. 4170, relating to the apprehension of fugitives charged with, or convicted of, federal or state felonies."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2006-03-17
• 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
• USA PATRIOT Act Sunset: A Sketch [Updated February 6, 2006]

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  From the Introduction: "Sunset comes to a handful of communications-related sections of the USA PATRIOT [Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism] Act and the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act on March 10, 2006. The authority of the expiring sections 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. Thereafter, the law reverts to its previous form unless it has been amended in the interim or subsequently renewed. The 9/11 Commission mentioned the approaching sunset and thought as a general matter that 'a full and informed debate on the PATRIOT Act would be healthy.'"

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2006-02-06
• 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
• 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
• USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 (H.R. 3199): A Legal Analysis of the Conference Bill [January 17, 2006]

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  "The USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005, H.R. 3199, as reported by the Conference Committee, H.Rept. 109-333 (2005), consists of seven titles. Among other things, Title I makes permanent 14 USA PATRIOT Act sections scheduled to expire on February 3, 2006 as well as the terrorism support amendments scheduled to expire on December 31, 2006. It amends and postpones until December 31, 2009 the expiration of the acts sections 206 and 215 relating to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) orders for roving wiretaps and access to business records. It extends the temporary FISA 'lone wolf' provision to the same date. It clarifies and amends the 'National Security Letter' statutes in a manner designed to ensure their constitutional viability and for other purposes. It authorizes court orders approving wiretapping in the course of investigations of a number of terrorism-related offenses. As for other proposals reported out of conference, Title II revives the death penalty as a sentencing option for air piracy murders committed between 1974 and 1994, permits certain terrorists to be sentenced to a lifetime of supervision following their release from prison, and eliminates the redundant capital punishment procedures found in the Controlled Substances Act. It does not include the other capital punishment adjustments found in the bill which the House sent to conference. Title III carries forward the anti-terrorism, anti-crime proposals found in a separate freestanding seaport protection bill. Title IV reflects in modified form House and Senate suggestions for amending federal confiscation laws and other money laundering adjustments."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles; Yeh, Brian T.

  2006-01-17
• 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
• USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 (H.R. 3199): A Side-by-Side Comparison of Existing Law, H.R. 3199 (Conference), and H.R. 3199 (Senate Passed) [December 28, 2005]

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  "By virtue of Section 224 of the USA PATRIOT Act, P.L. 107-56 (2001), several of the acts amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, 50 U.S.C. 1801-1862, and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. 2510-2522, 2701-2712, 3121-3127, were scheduled to expire on December 31, 2005, 115 Stat. 295 (2001). S. 2167 postpones the expiration dates of those provisions and of Section 6001 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 ('lone wolf' amendment), 118 Stat. 3742 (2004), until February 3, 2006. The version of the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005, H.R. 3199, which the Senate sent to conference, primarily addresses the provisions scheduled to expire and related matters such as the issuance of 'national security letters' under 18 U.S.C. 2709. The version of H.R. 3199 upon which the conferees agreed represents a compromise between the Senate version and the version passed by the House. The conference bill also contains provisions, amended by the conferees in several instances, that originated in the House but that in some cases have been considered in the Senate under separate legislative proposals. These include sections relating to the death penalty, seaport security, combating terrorism financing, and methamphetamine abuse."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles; Yeh, Brian T.

  2005-12-28
• USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 (H.R. 3199): A Brief Look [December 9, 2005]

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  "On December 9, 2005, House and Senate conferees reported out The USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3199). Among its other provisions, it makes permanent 14 of the 16 USA PATRIOT Act sections scheduled to expire at the end of the year. It 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 2012. It expands law enforcement wiretap authority to cover more than 20 federal crimes. It establishes judicial review and enforcement procedures for national security letters. It revises federal criminal provisions relating to seaport and maritime security. It reenforces [sic] federal money laundering and forfeiture authority particularly in connection with terrorist offenses. It intensifies federal regulation of foreign and domestic commerce in methamphetamine precursors. It foregoes all but technical modifications in federal capital punishment procedures. It makes organization adjustments in the Department of Justice and Secret Service."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles; Yeh, Brian T.

  2005-12-09
• Extradition To and From the United States: Overview of the Law and Recent Treaties [Updated September 30, 2003]

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  "The laws of the country of refuge and the applicable extradition treaty govern extradition back to the United States of a fugitive located overseas. Requests travel through diplomatic channels and the only issue likely to arise after extradition to this country is whether the extraditee has been tried for crimes other than those for which he or she was extradited. The fact that extradition was ignored and a fugitive forcibly returned to the United States for trial constitutes no jurisdictional impediment to trial or punishment. Federal and foreign immigration laws sometimes serve as a less controversial alternative to extradition to and from the United States.

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2005-09-30
• Material Support of Terrorists and Foreign Terrorist Organizations: Sunset Amendments [Updated September 15, 2005]

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  "Section 6603 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA) temporarily amended two federal terrorist assistance prohibitions. Those amendments expire on December 31, 2006, P.L. 108-458, 118 Stat. 3762-764 (2004). Under the provisions of the USA PATRIOT and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act, H.R. 3199, as passed by the House, and S. 1389, as passed by the Senate, the amendments would become permanent. In response to court decisions that found certain of their central terms unconstitutionally vague, section 6603 amended the federal statutes that outlaw assistance to terrorists and foreign terrorist organizations, 18 U.S.C. 2339A, 2339B. Initial judicial reaction suggests they may still be considered vague. Section 6603 temporarily rejected a narrow construction of the knowledge requirements under section 2339B, an interpretation which might have dissipated any vagueness problems. Section 6603 expanded the overseas application of section 2339B as well. It permits federal prosecution of an act proscribed in section 2339B and committed entirely abroad by a foreign national if the offender can be brought to this country for trial. Section 2339A outlaws providing material support or resources with the intent that they be used for the commission of certain predicate terrorism offenses. Section 6603 enlarged the list of predicate offenses to include any federal crime of terrorism (18 U.S.C. 2332b(g)(5)(B)) and added two crimes to the list, 18 U.S.C. 1361 (destruction of federal property) and 18 U.S.C. 2156 (production of defective national defense material)."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2005-09-15
• USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization in Brief [Updated September 15, 2005]

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  "Both Houses have approved proposals to reauthorize USA PATRIOT Act sections scheduled to expire at the end of the year. The House passed H.R. 3199 on July 21, 2005, 151 Cong. Rec. H6307; the Senate, S. 1389 on July 29, 2005 (although the Senate substituted its language for that of H.R. 3199 and then passed H.R. 3199; for convenience the Senate version of H.R. 3199 is referred to as S. 1389 here). This is a sketch of those bills and how they differ. Their common provisions deal mostly with expanded federal authority under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). The bills make permanent all but two of the temporary USA PATRIOT Act sections. They postpone the expiration of the two, dealing with FISA roving wiretaps and the so-call library or business records authority. In these two, the national security letter statutes, and some of the other USA PATRIOT Act provisions make sometimes parallel and sometimes individualistic adjustments. H.R. 3199 contains a number of features not found in S. 1389 including a first responder grant program, new capital offenses and adjusted capital punishment procedures, sections that in large measure replicate the seaport crimes portions of S. 378 (as reported), a substantial expansion in federal forfeiture authority in terrorism and money laundering cases, and expansion of federal wiretapping authority to embrace investigations into twenty crimes for which the authority did not previously exist."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2005-09-15
• USA PATRIOT Act: Background and Comparison of House- and Senate-Approved Reauthorization and Related Legislative Action [Updated September 15, 2005]

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  "The House and Senate have each passed USA PATRIOT Reauthorization Acts, H.R. 3199 and S. 1389. Both make permanent most of the expiring USA PATRIOT Act sections, occasionally in modified form. After amending two of the more controversial expiring sections, 206 (roving Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) wiretaps) and 215 (FISA tangible item access orders (business records-library records)), they postpone their expiration date, S. 1389 until December 31, 2009; H.R. 3199 until December 31, 2015. Both address questions raised as to the constitutionality of various 'national security letter' (NSL) statutes by providing for review, enforcement and exceptions to the attendant confidentiality requirements in more explicit terms. S. 1389 limits its NSL adjustments to the statute that affords federal foreign intelligence investigators access to communications records; H.R. 3199 amends the communications, and the financial institution and credit bureau NSL statutes. H.R. 3199 contains a substantial number of sections that have no counterpart in S. 1389, although many of them have been passed or reported by committee in one House or the other. Its treatment of seaport security, for example, is similar in many respects to that of S. 378, the Reducing Crime and Terrorism at America's Seaports Act of 2005, as reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Its first responder grant program sections are virtually identical to legislation which the House sent to the Senate as H.R. 1544. And its death penalty sections are reminiscent of sections found in H.R. 10 in the 108th Congress as reported the House Judiciary Committee."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2005-09-15
• Arrest and Detention of Material Witnesses and the USA PATRIOT and Terrorism Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3199): A Sketch [September 13, 2005]

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  "Section 12 of the USA PATRIOT and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3199), as reported by the House Judiciary Committee, directed the Department of Justice to review the detention of individuals under the federal material witness statute, including their length [of detention], conditions of access to counsel, frequency of access to counsel, offense at issue, and frequency of appearance before a grand jury. The Office of Management and Budget announced that the Administration strongly opposed section 12 on the grounds that the review by the Department of Justices Inspector General and reports to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees called for by that section would entail wholesale violation of the grand jury secrecy provisions. The provision was dropped from the bill prior to House passage and does not appear in the corresponding measure approved by the Senate (S. 1389/H.R. 3199). The episode illustrates the level of controversy easily generated by material witness statutes."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2005-09-13
• Arrest and Detention of Material Witnesses: Federal Law In Brief and Section 12 of the USA PATRIOT and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3199) [September 8, 2005]

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  "Witnesses at Congressional oversight hearings alleged that the authority to arrest and hold material witnesses until their appearance at federal criminal proceedings (including grand jury proceedings) had been abused following September 11, 2001. Section 12 of the USA PATRIOT Act and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3199) as reported by the House Judiciary Committee called for a periodic review and reports on the use of the material witness statute. In the face of Administration opposition, however, the provision was dropped from the bill prior to House consideration. No similar proposal can be found in the version of H.R. 3199 (S. 1389) approved in the Senate. The episode illustrates the level of controversy easily generated by material witness statutes. This is an overview of the law under the federal material witness statute which authorizes the arrest of material witnesses, permits their release under essentially the same bail laws that apply to federal criminal defendants, but favors their release after their depositions have taken."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2005-09-08
• Libraries and the USA PATRIOT Act [Updated August 19, 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 Surveillance Intelligence Act (FISA). Section 215 is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2005. The House and the Senate have approved bills that would postpone expiration and modify the provisions of Section 215, H.R. 3199 and S. 1389. 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. The businesses to whom the orders were addressed were bound to silence. 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."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2005-08-19
• Material Support of Terrorists and Foreign Terrorist Organizations: Sunset Amendments [Updated August 11, 2005]

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  "Section 6603 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA) temporarily amended two federal terrorist assistance prohibitions. Those amendments expire on December 31, 2006, P.L. 108-458, 118 Stat. 3762-764 (2004). Under the provisions of H.R. 3199, as passed by the House, and S. 1389, as passed by the Senate, the amendments would become permanent. In response to court decisions that found certain of their central terms unconstitutionally vague, section 6603 amended the federal statutes that outlaw assistance to terrorists and foreign terrorist organizations, 18 U.S.C. 2339A, 2339B. Initial judicial reaction suggests they may still be considered vague. Section 6603 temporarily rejected a narrow construction of the knowledge requirements under section 2339B, an interpretation which might have dissipated any vagueness problems. Section 6603 expanded the overseas application of section 2339B as well. It permits federal prosecution of an act proscribed in section 2339B and committed entirely abroad by a foreign national if the offender can be brought to this country for trial. Section 2339A outlaws providing material support or resources with the intent that they be used for the commission of certain predicate terrorism offenses. Section 6603 enlarged the list of predicate offenses to include any federal crime of terrorism (18 U.S.C. 2332b(g)(5)(B)) and added two crimes to the list, 18 U.S.C. 1361 (destruction of federal property) and 18 U.S.C. 2156 (production of defective national defense material)."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2005-08-11
• USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization in Brief [August 10, 2005]

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  "Both Houses have approved proposals to reauthorize USA PATRIOT Act sections scheduled to expire at the end of the year. […] This is a sketch of those bills and how they differ. Their common provisions deal mostly with expanded federal authority under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). The bills make permanent all but two of the temporary USA PATRIOT Act sections. They postpone the expiration of the two, dealing with FISA roving wiretaps and the so-call library or business records authority. In these two, the national security letter statutes, and some of the other USA PATRIOT Act provisions make sometimes parallel and sometimes individualistic adjustments. H.R. 3199 contains a number of features not found in S. 1389 including a first responder grant program, new capital offenses and adjusted capital punishment procedures, sections that in large measure replicate the seaport crimes portions of S. 378 (as reported), a substantial expansion in federal forfeiture authority in terrorism and money laundering cases, and expansion of federal wiretapping authority to embrace investigations into twenty crimes for which the authority did not previously exist. A more detailed version of this report is available as CRS [Congressional Research Service] Report RL33027, 'USA PATRIOT Act: Background and Comparison of House- and Senate-approved Reauthorization and Related Legislative Action'."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2005-08-10
• USA PATRIOT Act: Background and Comparison of House- and Senate-approved Reauthorization and Related Legislative Action [August 9, 2005]

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  "The House and Senate have each passed USA PATRIOT Reauthorization Acts, H.R. 3199 and S. 3189. Both make permanent most of the expiring USA PATRIOT Act sections, occasionally in modified form. After amending two of the more controversial expiring sections, 206 (roving Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) wiretaps) and 215 (FISA tangible item access orders (business records-library records)), they postpone their expiration date, S. 1389 until December 31, 2009; H.R. 3199 until December 31, 2015. Both address questions raised as to the constitutionality of various 'national security letter' (NSL) statutes by providing for review, enforcement and exceptions to the attendant confidentiality requirements in more explicit terms. S. 1389 limits its NSL adjustments to the statute that affords federal foreign intelligence investigators access to communications records; H.R. 3199 amends the communications, and the financial institution and credit bureau NSL statutes. H.R. 3199 contains a substantial number of sections that have no counterpart in S. 1389, although many of them have been passed or reported by committee in one House or the other. Its treatment of seaport security, for example, is similar in many respects to that of S. 378, the Reducing Crime and Terrorism at Americas Seaports Act of 2005, as reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Its first responder grant program sections are virtually identical to legislation which the House sent to the Senate as H.R. 1544. And its death penalty sections are reminiscent of sections found in H.R. 10 in the 108th Congress as reported the House Judiciary Committee. H.R. 3199 alone permits wiretapping in the investigation of a greater range of federal crimes. It alone expands the use of forfeiture authority against money laundering particularly in terrorism cases."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2005-08-09
• 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
• USA PATRIOT Act Sunset: Provisions That Expire on December 31, 2005 [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. The authority remains in effect only with respect to foreign intelligence investigations begun before sunset or to offenses or potential offense begun or occurring before that date. Aside from the fact there may be some disagreement of whether a potential offense is a suspected crime, and/or an incomplete crime, and/or a future crime, after December 31, 2005 the law reverts to its previous form unless it has been amended or extended in the interim. The 9/11 Commission mentioned the approaching sunset and thought as a general matter that a full and informed debate on the PATRIOT Act would be healthy. 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."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles

  2005-06-29
• 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
• Cybercrime: An Overview of the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Statute and Related Federal Criminal Laws [Updated June 28, 2005]

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  From the Summary: "The federal computer fraud and abuse statute, 18 U.S.C. 1030, protects federal computers, bank computers, and computers used in interstate and foreign commerce. It shields them from trespassing, threats, damage, espionage, and from being corruptly used as instruments of fraud. It is not a comprehensive provision, but instead it fills crack and gaps in the protection afforded by other federal criminal laws. This is a brief sketch of section 1030 and some of its federal statutory companions."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles; Weir, Alyssa Bartlett

  2005-06-28
• Terrorism: Some Legal Restrictions on Military Assistance to Domestic Authorities Following a Terrorist Attack [Updated May 27, 2005]

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  "The Constitution empowers 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. Further exceptions are proposed (H.R. 1986, H.R. 1815). 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 for responsible authorities and frustrate prosecution of terrorists. For a more complete discussion, see CRS Report 95-964, 'The Posse Comitatus Act and Related Matters: The Use of the Military to Execute Civilian Law."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Doyle, Charles; Elsea, Jennifer

  2005-05-27