Judge Strikes Down Part of Patriot Act

Shining Celebi writes "U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero ruled in favor of the ACLU and struck down a portion of the revised USA PATRIOT Act this morning, forcing investigators to go through the courts to obtain approval before ordering ISPs to give up information on customers, instead of just sending them a National Security Letter. In the words of Judge Marrero, this use of National Security Letters 'offends the fundamental constitutional principles of checks and balances and separation of powers.'"

I, for one...

[Telephone Sanitizer]

I, for one, welcome our newly Constitutionally-conscious judicial overlords.

Wow

[nizo]

In the words of Judge Marrero, this use of National Security Letters "offends the fundamental constitutional principles of checks and balances and separation of powers."

Where is the "nodamnkidding" tag when you need it?

Re:It's a good start

[Wandering Wombat]

Well, you're too dumb to use your freedoms properly. You should THANK your appointed officials for deciding the best way for you to go about your daily life.

Re:Translating the Judge's Statement

[Ant P.]

WTF kind of translation is that? English to AOL?

In totally unrelated news...

[KingSkippus]

In completely unrelated news, U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero has been arrested as an enemy combatant who hates freedom as is currently on an airplane in transit to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he will be held indefinitely. Ironically, it is unlikely that this judge will ever see his own day in court.

President Bush has issued a signing statement declaring that the principles of checks and balances and separation of powers is unConstitutional, since "Clearly the executive branch of government is over the other two, or else they wouldn't have called it the 'executive' branch." Dick Cheney couldn't be reached for comment to see which branch of government he is part of today.

Re:Translating the Judge's Statement

[SkunkPussy]

Don't you mean, "Their taking are jobs!!!!"

No, wait.....

Re:It's a good start

[Anonymous Coward]

That wooshing sound you hear is the sarcasm from the GP post zipping by over your head...

Re:Should not have been a judge in the first place

[MightyMartian]

I'm tired of activist judges who ignore basic law principles simply to advance the pursuit of a future high position in the Democratic Party.

Giving a swiff of Zyklon B to all the democrats would already take care of 90% of the problems in America right now..

Who let Ann Coulter on /.?

Re:Now for Congress

[pthor1231]

Holy crap. Assuming that wiki page isn't lying, which would be hard to pull off with some of the hawks watching political pages, that is pretty amazing. A politician with balls as big as maddox's [thebestpag...iverse.net].

Karma Whore Alert

[goldspider]

insight
-noun 1. an instance of apprehending the true nature of a thing, esp. through intuitive understanding

People here have been rolling out that tired quote for the past six years. Posting it verbatim no longer qualifies as "insightful" IMO.

Re:Absolutely shameless plug

[Anonymous Coward]

Up or down?

Re:Absolutely shameless plug

[truesaer]

Thank god the IIJ is there to protect a homeless methhead's right to do medical care on horses without a license. Godbless them!

Re:The Judicial system: Freedom versus Tyranny

[MightyMartian]

That is also the only way to get back to a merely legitimate government -- one based on laws actually passed by representatives of the people. You might want to consider supporting Fred. Watching his announcement speech online, it struck me that he's the first plausible presidential candidate I can remember actually openly advocating restoring the constitution balance of power between the federal government and the states.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

This is the lunatic that vows he's going to ban abortion, and you think he's advocating anything serious? Please. He's a late-comer with about as much chance of sitting in the Oval Office as you. Sure, he may fool the far-right lunatics that have thus far absolutely destroyed the Republican Party, but take my word for it, the GOP wants to actually have a shot at winning an election. It doesn't need this guy.

Oh yeah, and Law and Order sucks with him on it.

Re:It's a good start

[Some_Llama]

Sorry i'm so used to living near the airport i thought it was just another 757.

Re:It's a good start

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, your freedoms need to be kept in a safe place until the government determines that it is safe for you to use them again.

Re:It's a good start

[DavidShor]

I happen to agree with some of what you're saying, but for God's sake, write a bit more formally. Stop using "..."'s, capitalize your "i"'s, and at least spell out the easier words.

Re:No Chile Left Behind

[Anonymous Coward]

I for one welcome our Peruvian overlords.