Patriot Act Provision Ruled Unconstitutional

A federal judge has ruled unconstitutional a section of the Patriot Act that had allowed the FBI to request businesses' financial records to investigate terrorism.

The ACLU sued the Department of Justice on the grounds that this practice violated the Constitution because it required companies to disclose sensitive information without a guarantee of information security. The specific part of the legislation also allowed the FBI to obtain records without any allowance for companies to fight the request to disclose their sensitive financial information.

U.S. District Judge Victor Marreo agreed, stating that the provision "effectively bars or substantially deters any judicial challenge."