News Release

October 23, 2003

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Patriot Act's 2nd Anniversary Marked by Controversy, Criticism
Cato legal experts available for comment

Sunday, October 26 marks the second anniversary of the USA PATRIOT Act. The Act faces growing scrutiny from lawmakers, civil liberties groups, and private citizens as its effects on civil liberties and its usefulness in as a tool in the "War on Terrorism" have increasingly come under fire.

In an October 22 statement, Cato's Timothy Lynch asserted that the PATRIOT Act threatens the freedom of the American people in several significant ways, including loosening restrictions on the powers of the police. "Throughout American history, the police have executed searches openly -- presenting homeowners with the search warrant that justifies the intrusion," he said. "The PATRIOT Act threatens to usher in a new era in which searches will be conducted surreptitiously without the knowledge of homeowners."

Lynch, director of Cato's Project on Criminal Justice, and Senior Fellow Robert Levy are available to comment on the PATRIOT Act's past, present and future.

Lynch is the author of several articles and studies that focus on the PATRIOT Act's constitutionality and its effects on civil liberties, including "More Surveillance Equals Less Liberty: Patriot Act Reduces Privacy, Undercuts Judicial Review"; "Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Preserving Our Liberties While Fighting Terrorism" and "Patriotic Questions."

Levy is the author of "Assaults on Liberty"; "Why Civil Libertarians Are Concerned" and a chapter in Cato's "Handbook for Congress" outlining steps Congress can take to eliminate the Act's most harmful elements, including tightening the Act's requirements for advance judicial approval and judicial review, imposing a shorter-term sunset clause on all provisions of the Act, excluding ordinary criminal activities from coverage of the Act and establishing rules that govern detention of citizens and noncitizens suspected of terrorist links.