This noticeably violates the First Amendment and inevitably violates the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment as well. American citizens should have the freedom to speak without fear of prosecution. After all, America is "the land of the free? " .
What are citizen's rights under the Fourth Amendment? The Fourth Amendment in the Bill of Rights states the following: .
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized (Ferdico 90-10).
This guarantees citizens of The United States a reasonable expectation of privacy for private belongings and protection against harassment from government officials invading personal property without a search warrant. A solid justification supported by the totality of circumstances is required to obtain a search warrant on a citizen. A reasonable expectation of privacy exists at home, on the telephone, when mailing letters, and driving a car. So, why should sending an e-mail be any different? .
The Patriot Act violates the Fourth Amendment search and seizure clause. Although additional legislation has passed to circumvent the Fourth Amendment and aid the Patriot Act in stripping citizen's freedoms, it is important to know that it has passed for the good of public safety. Under the Patriot Act, without probable cause or reasonable suspicion, the government can issue NLTs to any public entity in order to gather private information about an individual. .
This means that without a warrant, anyone's credit history, telephone records, or internet activity can be accessed. What is even scarier is that anyone's home can be invaded under the same pretense. According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): .
