In another clear sign that the federal judiciary intends to reign in the Bush administration, Judge Audrey B. Collins of the Los Angeles District Court has struck down a portion of the USA PATRIOT Act. Citing First Amendment issues, Judge Collins found the part of the law prohibiting providing “expert advice or assistance” to known terrorists “impermissibly vague.”
The case, brought by The Humanitarian Law Project, involved organizations and two citizens involved in providing nonviolent support and relief to Kurdish refugees in Turkey seeking self-determination.
The “expert advice or assistance” part of the USA PATRIOT Act has been used several times to prosecute citizens alleged to have provided “material support”—ranging from money to Internet services—to suspected terrorists.
The decision, which the Bush administration will almost certainly appeal, marks the first judicial challenge, albeit partial, to the USA PATRIOT Act.
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