The
Patriot Act, which broadened federal surveillance powers in
the interest of curbing terrorism, hasn’t significantly
eroded personal liberties since it went into effect four years
ago, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio told
a skeptical audience yesterday in Columbus.
U.S.
Attorney Gregory Lockhart said federal agents have long been
able to serve search warrants with no advance notice, subpoena
bank records without telling the account holders and hold
sensitive portions of trials in private.
Since
going into effect in October 2001, the Patriot Act has helped
identify possible terrorists without affecting the average
American, Lockhart told an audience of lawyers and journalists
at the Ohio State Bar Association offices.
...
[Ray
V. ] Vasvari, [a Cleveland lawyer who previously served as
legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Ohio],
said the Patriot Act has led to secret trials of terrorism
suspects, allowed federal agents to seize medical and psychological
records without telling patients, empowered authorities to
conduct surveillance on people in more cases than before and
removed provisions ensuring government openness and accountability.
"It
is a government that is massively expanding its ability to
get into our lives while also hiding behind a shroud of secrecy
to hide its own activities," Vasvari said.
