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New court challenge to patriot act { August 6 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21540-2003Aug5.htmlhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21540-2003Aug5.html
Patriot Act Faces New Challenge In Court
Group Says Law Limits Free Speech
By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 6, 2003; Page A08
A legal advocacy group filed papers yesterday in federal court in Los Angeles challenging the constitutionality of the USA Patriot Act, the broad antiterrorism law that has come under increasing attacks in recent weeks in the courts and Congress.
The Center for Constitutional Rights, based in New York, argues that the Patriot Act infringes on free-speech protections by outlawing "expert advice and assistance" to groups that the United States has labeled terrorist organizations, even if the assistance is humanitarian in nature and has no connection to terrorism.
The filing, part of a long-running dispute between the center and the federal government over the reach of antiterrorism policies, marks the second time in a week that the Patriot Act has been the focus of a legal challenge. The American Civil Liberties Union sued last week over a provision that allows the government to secretly seize business records in terror investigations.
The latest case involves American activists and aid workers with ties to Turkey's Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, both of which have been declared terrorist groups by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell.
The plaintiffs argue that whatever links they might have with the groups are innocent and protected by the First Amendment, a view that has been supported by previous federal court rulings focused on other statutes.
"In its rush to pass the Patriot Act just six weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, Congress overlooked one of our most fundamental rights: the right to express our political beliefs, even if they are controversial," said Nancy Chang, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys.
But Justice Department spokeswoman Barbara Comstock said that providing any kind of support to terrorist groups "poses a potential threat to the American people."
"Congress overwhelmingly approved the Patriot Act, and they clearly had the intention of making material support and assistance to terrorists a crime," she said.
© 2003 The Washington Post Company
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