Federal judge strikes down key Patriot Act provision

Greg Gordon | McClatchy Newspapers

last updated: September 06, 2007 08:09:40 PM

WASHINGTON — For the second time, a federal judge on Thursday struck down a Patriot Act provision that authorizes the FBI to demand, without court warrants, that phone companies, financial institutions and Internet providers secretly turn over records for use in national security investigations.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero of New York, in a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, marked another in a lengthening series of court actions nullifying key elements of the Bush administration's counterterrorism strategy.