Parts of Patriot Act Ruled Unconstitutional

Parts of the Patriot Act having to do with the disclosure of Internet records were struck down as unconstitutional Thursday. The American Civil Liberties Union had challenged portions of the revised law, which would have allowed the government to seize records of ISPs without informing the customers or obtaining a court order. Central to the ACLU's argument was that the new law that would have allowed the government to use "national security letters" to compel businesses to turn over customer information without a court order.

U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero agreed, saying that the courts had the right to oversee any government searches, and that the new law was unconstitutional in the way that it did not respect checks and balances and the separation of powers.