Homeland Security Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

fatherland Security - Assignment ExampleForeign Intelligence Security Act (FISA) The 1978 Foreign Intelligence inspection Act (FISA) allowed agents easy access to warrants if they could show that there was a substantial foreign intelligence be given to their work the warrants would be granted by a special FISA court. FISA can now be use of goods and services in cases that are entirely crimial in nature, agents can get automatic admisitrative FISA warrants as long as agents can assert that there is some foreign intelligence angle to the cases, they receive such warrants on demand (Darmer, 2004). Prior to 9/11, FISA was not considered a law enforcement tool its function was solely preventative. FISA control powers were available only when the primary purpose of an investigation was to obtain foreign intelligence, including counterespionage and counter terrorist act information. FISA authorized charge at a lower place flexible conditions that are considered unacceptable when the governments objective is to gather evidence for criminal persecution (Howard, timbre and Moore, 2006). FISA surveilleance is permitted after showing diluted suspicion not equivalent to the traditonal criminal starndard of probable cause. Surveilllance and searches can save over extensive peiods of time, with less jusicial supervision. The person targeted normallly is never notified that he was subjected to surveillance. If that peron is prosecuted, his attorney normally cannot review the surveillance documents for prurposes of his defense, as they could if surveillance had been conducted under conventional law enforcement standards (Darmer, 2004). If the judge finds that there is probable cause that the somebody is indeed a terrorism funder, then he can use the provisions as watch by FISA to determine whether this calim is true or not. FISA establishes leagl procedures for electronic surveillance, physical serches as well as the use of trap and trace devices and pen registers to g ather jevidence. if this evidence is collected on the activities of the suspect, then it can be used agaist him in court. this law is applicable to anyone who is involved in any way in terrorism activities. this means that anyone found guilty of terririst activities can be tried using this law regardless of whether he is a citizen of the US or not. the Lone Wolf provision of FISA also allows for the prosecution of a surmise terrorist without having to confirm the people he/she is working with. inthis case, if there is enough physical evidence to show that the surmise financier of terrorism is guilty as charged, there is no need to find the people he is working with jfor him to be sentenced. The USA PATRIOT Act This is an Act of the US Congress which became law on 26 October 2001. The letters USA PATRIOT are acronyms for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing suppress tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (Bazan, 2008). This is one important piece of legislation that each judge dealing with a terrorism case should be conversant with. the issues that are likely to descend up in regards to this law are discussed below. The Patriot Act has ten titles outlining new powers of government for counterterrorist activities, expands practiced support for the FBI, expands electronic intelligence gathering research, and defines presidential authority in response to terrorism. The purpose of backing II is to improve the governments ability to gather electronic evidence. Title II allows