Archive for the ‘Constitution’ Category
Jail for photographing police?
Court hears arguments on Patriot Act in Ore. case
http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/news-29/123388468428190.xml&storylist=orlocal
2/5/2009, 5:38 p.m. PST
By RYAN KOST
The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Brandon Mayfield’s case could have been over years ago.
Wrongly accused of having participated in the Madrid train bombings of 2004 that killed 191 people, the Portland attorney sued the government for their mistake. In 2006, he got an apology — and a $2 million settlement.
Two years later, he’s still in court, hoping to overturn two pillars of the USA Patriot Act that ensnared him years earlier.
“It really is important,” he said Thursday morning outside Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse. “I think the people who follow (this case) realize it’s a whittling away of our civil liberties.”
Earlier that morning Mayfield and his lawyers argued his case yet again, this time before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. It was one more step in a process that will stretch on for months, if not years, to come.
U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken ruled in Mayfield’s favor in 2007, finding it was unconstitutional to use the Patriot Act to authorize secret searches and wiretapping primarily for purposes other than foreign intelligence. But the Bush administration quickly appealed the decision.
On Thursday, the appeals court heard oral arguments on two main issues.
First, Mayfield’s attorney argued that the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, as amended by the Patriot Act, was unconstitutional.
Before the Patriot Act was passed, the government had to show its purpose in obtaining secret search and surveillance warrants was specifically intelligence gathering.
The Patriot Act changed those conditions so that the government had only to prove that intelligence gathering was “a significant purpose” of the warrant.
It’s a small change, but one of great consequence, said Elden Rosenthal, the attorney who represents Mayfield.
Rosenthal argued the government misused that privilege as a way to build a criminal case against Mayfield, not to collect intelligence.
Second, though the government has destroyed or returned the documents and recordings it collected while investigating Mayfield, it has retained copies and summaries of the originals. Rosenthal and Mayfield believe that the district court decision compels the government to destroy those as well.
Scott McIntosh, the Justice Department’s lawyer, told the appeals court the government believed the district court lacked the proper jurisdiction to strike down pieces of the Patriot Act.
He also disputed Rosenthal’s argument that the earlier opinion meant that the government should destroy the copies and summaries.
Rosenthal stuck to his arguments, saying the new wording the Patriot Act added to the surveillance act is in direct violation of the Fourth Amendment.
“This law is the first time since 1791 that the federal government can sneak into somebody’s house without meeting the strict requirement of the Fourth Amendment,” Rosenthal said later, echoing his earlier comments to the appeals court.
After the arguments, Mayfield told reporters that he hoped his continued fight would “make sure what happened to us doesn’t happen to other people.”
Mayfield said he understood the need for the surveillance and Patriot acts, but said they — just like the Fourth Amendment — should not be absolute. “We need to be protected from foreign entities,” he said, “but also from abuse of powers.”
Win or lose, Mayfield expects the decision will be appealed again.
Mayfield and Rosenthal said, however, there is a chance the new Obama administration could decide not to push forward if Mayfield wins.
“Nobody is saying this is the end of the road,” Rosenthal said. “But nobody knows what’s going to happen next.”
http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/news-29/123388468428190.xml&storylist=orlocal
Ammo Confiscation
Ammo Confiscation
(*Many* Americans are scared-to-death at what’s coming….)
The bill that is being pushed in 18 states (including Illinois and Indiana )
requires all ammunition to be encoded by the manufacturer in a data base of
all ammunition sales. So they will know how much you buy and what calibers.
Nobody can sell any ammunition after June 30, 2009 unless the ammunition is
coded.
Any privately held uncoded ammunition must be destroyed by July 1,
2011.(Including hand loaded ammo.) They will also charge a .05 cent tax on
every round so every box of ammo you buy will go up at least $2.50 or more!
If they can deprive you of ammo they do not need to take your gun!
This legislation is currently pending in 18 states: Alabama, Arizona,
California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland,
Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington.
To find more about the anti-gun group that is sponsoring this legislation
and the specific legislation for each state, go to:
This is being introduced in each state starting with
California, New York, Illinois, Hawaii, Maryland, Indiana, Tennessee, and
Washington. See:
“No later than January 1, 2011, all non coded ammunition for the
calibers listed in this act, whether owned by private citizens or retail
outlets, shall be disposed.”
Tennessee HOUSE BILL 3245 By LARRY J. MILLER D – Memphis
SENATE BILL 3395 By REGINALD TATE D – Memphis
AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13, to
enact the “Ammunition Accountability Act”.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE :
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Ammunition
Accountability Act”.
SECTION 2. The general assembly finds the following:
(1) Each year in the United States, more than thirty percent (30%) of all
homicides that involve a gun go unsolved;
(2) Handgun ammunition accounts for eighty percent (80%) of all ammunition
sold in the United States;
(3)=2 0Current technology for matching a bullet used in a crime to the gun
that fired it has worked moderately well for years, but presupposes that the
weapon was recovered by law enforcement; and
(4) Bullet coding is a new and effective way for law enforcement to quickly
identify persons of interest in gun crime investigations. SECTION 3.
For purposes of this act, “coded ammunition” means a bullet carrying a
unique identifier that has been applied by etching onto the base of the
bullet projectile. SECTION 4.
(a) All handgun and assault weapon ammunition manufactured or sold in the
state after January 1, 2009, shall be coded by the manufacturer.
(b) No later than January 1, 2011, all non coded ammunition for the
calibers listed in this act, whether owned by private citizens or retail
outlets, shall be disposed. SB339501197072 1 SECTION 5.
(a) The Tennessee bureau of investigation (TBI) shall be responsible for
establishing and maintaining an ammunition coding system database (ACSD)
containing the following information:
(1) A manufacturer registry. Manufacturers shall:
(A) Register with the TBI in a manner prescribed by the department through
rules and regulations; and
(B) Maintain records on the business premises for a period of seven (7)
years concerning all sales, loans and transfers of ammunition, to, from, or
within the state; and
(2) A vendor registry. Vendors shall:
(A) Register with the TBI in a manner prescribed by the department through
rules and regulations;
(B) Record the following information in a format prescribed by the TBI:
(i) The date of the transaction;
(ii) The name of the transferee;
(iii) The purchaser’s driver license number or other government issued
identification card number;
(iv) The date of birth of the purchaser;
(v) The unique identifier of all handgun ammunition or bullets transferred;
and
(vi) All other information prescribed by the TBI; and
(C) Maintain records on the business premises for a period of three (3)
years from the date of the recorded purchase.
(b) To the greatest extent possible or practical, the ACSD shall be built
within the framework of existing firearms databases. The ACSD shall be
operational no later than January 1, 2009.
(c) Privacy of individuals shall be of the utmost importance. Access to
information in the ACSD is reserved for key law enforcement personnel and
shall only be released in connection with a criminal investigation. SECTION
6.
(a) Any vendor that knowingly fails to comply with, or falsifies the records
required to be kept by this act commits a Class A misdemeanor.
(b) Any manufacturer that knowingly fails to comply with this act commits a
Class A misdemeanor punishable by fine only not to exceed one thousand
dollars ($1,000) for a first violation and punishable by fine only not to
exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) for second and subsequent violations.
(c) Any person who knowingly destroys, obliterates, or other wise renders
unreadable, the serialization required pursuant to this act, on any bullet
or assembled ammunition commits a Class A misdemeanor. SECTION 7.
(a) The cost of establishing and maintaining the ACSD shall be funded by an
end user fee. Vendors shall charge an additional one half cent ($.005)
per bullet or round of ammunition to the purchaser.
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