Part of USA PATRIOT ACT found unconstitutional
(Caveat Lector: to readers of Info-Commons, please forgive the nearly duplicate entry ...)
From Reuters:
Part of the Patriot Act, a central plank of the Bush Administration's war on terror, was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge on Wednesday.U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero [corrected from article] ruled in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union, which challenged the power the FBI has to demand confidential financial records from companies as part of terrorism investigations.
...
The ACLU sued the Department of Justice, arguing that part of the Patriot legislation violated the constitution because it authorizes the FBI to force disclosure of sensitive information without adequate safeguards.
The judge agreed, stating that the provision "effectively bars or substantially deters any judicial challenge."
Under the provision, the FBI did not have to show a judge a compelling need for the records and it did not have to specify any process that would allow a recipient to fight the demand for confidential information.
No idea how much of the act this affects, or how far this goes in challenging Sect. 215. When the opinion is available, I'll link it here, as well as commentary on the decision.