Question

Does the usa patriot act violate the 5th amendment

Answer 1

The answer is yes.

The USA PATRIOT Act is an act of Congress signed into law by President Georg Bush on October 26, 2001. Its full title is : 'Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001'. The goal of this act was to strengthen national security after the September 11 attacks.

This acts is controversial because it violates some Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, especially the 4th and the 5th one.

The 5th Amendment states that no person should be ' deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law'. The Patriot act however, allows the Attorney General to hold a person ( especially a non-citizen or an alien) in detention indefinitely if he/she is a threat to the nation's security, even without a criminal conviction. This contradicts the 5th Amendment.