Interview with Judge Napolitano: (emphasis added)
Quote
Napolitano: The Patriot Act permits federal agents to write their own search warrants with no judge having examined evidence and agreed that it’s likely that the person or thing the government wants to search will reveal evidence of a crime.
....the Patriot Act makes it a felony for the recipient of a self-written search warrant to reveal it to anyone.
So FBI agents can write their own search warrant with just the permission of their superior, no judge at all, nobody at the main Department of Justice, and serve it essentially on any entity they want, and if they serve this search warrant on your doctor, lawyer, grocer, or mailman, and that doctor, lawyer, grocer, or mailman tells you they received it, then that doctor, lawyer, grocer, or mailman, can be prosecuted for a felony, face five years in jail.
This creates a Soviet-style conundrum for the recipient, who can’t even tell his or her lawyer or general counsel about getting the search warrant. You can’t hire outside counsel to challenge it, you can’t mention it to your spouse on the pillow, to your priest in confession—not even to a federal judge in a federal courtroom where all language except perjury should be permitted. This is a conundrum the likes of which government has never visited even under the Alien and Sedition Act.
reason: The Patriot Act was sold as a necessary protection from terror. How has that worked out?
Napolitano: How many people has the DOJ convicted in a jury trial for terrorism based on evidence obtained from the Patriot Act? Zero.
....the Patriot Act makes it a felony for the recipient of a self-written search warrant to reveal it to anyone.
So FBI agents can write their own search warrant with just the permission of their superior, no judge at all, nobody at the main Department of Justice, and serve it essentially on any entity they want, and if they serve this search warrant on your doctor, lawyer, grocer, or mailman, and that doctor, lawyer, grocer, or mailman tells you they received it, then that doctor, lawyer, grocer, or mailman, can be prosecuted for a felony, face five years in jail.
This creates a Soviet-style conundrum for the recipient, who can’t even tell his or her lawyer or general counsel about getting the search warrant. You can’t hire outside counsel to challenge it, you can’t mention it to your spouse on the pillow, to your priest in confession—not even to a federal judge in a federal courtroom where all language except perjury should be permitted. This is a conundrum the likes of which government has never visited even under the Alien and Sedition Act.
reason: The Patriot Act was sold as a necessary protection from terror. How has that worked out?
Napolitano: How many people has the DOJ convicted in a jury trial for terrorism based on evidence obtained from the Patriot Act? Zero.
A quick recap: The Patriot Act allows an FBI agent with only the approval of his superior - no judicial oversight - to issue a search warrant, and if the person who receives the warrant calls his attorney for help, he is guilty of a felony. This is a blatant violation of the rights greanted under the first and fourth amendments of the Constitution of the United States.
But it is U.S. law - passed with no debate by Congress. Signed into law the George W. Bush.
Houston, we have a problem....