LSCI 106: ONLINE RESEARCH 1: INTRODUCTION TO ONLINE RESEARCH

Student Project


RESEARCH QUESTION:

How have core ideals and civil liberties in America been affected by post-9/11 security-specific legislation such as the patriot act?

 

Enacted in late October of 2001 in response to the September 11 [2001] attacks, the USA PATRIOT Act altered the existing balance between law enforcement capabilities and the expectations of American citizens. (Toobin ii) Hence, what has happened to America is that there has been a shifting of the balance of scales in the debate of civil liberty versus the country’s security. The goal of this research project is to investigate the impact that post-9/111 security-specific legislation such as the Patriot Act has had on the core ideals and civil liberties of American citizens. This is a critical question because people have to be aware of what certain legislation has done to impacting this country, especially rights we have been compromised as nowadays we are losing our civil liberties to gain securities, and whether or not there are alternatives out there that could allow us to preserve more of our ideals.

 

GENERAL SEARCH WORKSHEET:

 

CONCEPT #

Search Terms

 

1

September 11

9/11

Terrorist Attack of*

War on Terrorism, 2001

 

2

United States

American

U.S.*)

 

 

3

Liberties

amendment* 

equalit*

 

ideal*

core value*

4

.

.

.

.

.

 

WEBLIOGRAPHY

Baker, Nancy. “National Security Versus Civil Liberties.”  Presidential Studies Quarterly Sept. 2003 InfoTrac OneFile. GaleGroup. 30 Mar. 2004. <http://web7.infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/398/16/47367937w7/purl=rc1_ITOF_0_A109847218&dyn=7!ar_fmt?sw_aep=plan_skyline >.    

This article was written by Nancy V. Baker, who is an associate professor in the Department of Government at New Mexico State University. She is the author of such books as Conflicting Loyalties: Law and Politics in the Attorney General's Office 1789-1990. Her expertise in law, government, and politics aided her in writing this article about the balance between national security and civil liberties from the vantage point of viewing the Presidents decisions on this topic. In writing this article for the publication, presidential studies quarterly, Baker is writing for a journal that has the unique focus of being a journal devoted to covering, as the publication’s website stressed it, on the “most powerful political figure in the world - the President of the United States. An indispensable resource for understanding the U.S. Presidency, Presidential Studies Quarterly offers articles, features, review essays, and book reviews covering Presidential decision making; the operations of the White House; Presidential relations with Congress, the courts, the bureaucracy, the public, and the press; and the President's involvement in public policy issues in both the domestic arenas,” including on the civil liberties versus national security debate.

Diaz, Carlos A., Carrie Lybecker, and Liza Rognas.

USA PATRIOT Act. 14 March 2003. Evergreen State University. 20 April 2004. <http://www.evergreen.edu/library/govdocs/hotopics/usapatriotact/>

This website was created by Carlos A. Diaz, Carrie Lybecker, and Liza Rognas, all librarians of government documents at Evergreen State University, for the purposes of providing to the public access to information about the USA PATRIOT Act, intellectual freedom, civil rights and social justice.

Herman, Susan. “THE USA PATRIOT ACT AND THE US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE: LOSING OUR BALANCES?” 2002. University of Pittsburgh. 18 Mar. 2004. <http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/forum/forumnew40.htm>.

 

This article was written by Professor Susan Herman who is a Brooklyn Law School JURIST Guest Columnist. It argues that people’s civil liberties are being taken away by the justice department through legislations such as the USA Patriot Act.

 

Oder, Norman. “New Bills in Congress Would Scale Back USA PATRIOT Act: Also, Sanders's Bill Gains Ground, First Patriot Act Lawsuit Filed; Ashcroft Defends Law, FL ACLU Sends Posters.”  Library Journal, 1 Sept. 2003 InfoTrac OneFile. GaleGroup. 16 Mar. 2004. <http://web5.infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/218/685/41580676w5/purl=rc1_EAIM_0_A107836905&dyn=5!xrn_1_0_A107836905?sw_aep=kent75086>.


Ramasastry, Anita. “Patriot II:The Sequel Why It's Even Scarier than the First Patriot Act.” 2003. Findlaw. 22 Mar. 2004. <http://writ.news.findlaw.com/ramasastry/20030217.html>.

 

This article was written by Guest Journalist Anita Ramasastry, who is a law professor by profession. She wrote this article to try to persuade readers to stop new legislation similar to the Patriot Act from being passed. The Domestic Security Enhancement Act or the  Patriot II as it is called by the media is the focus of this article. In my research, I have not focused too much on this particular legislation. However, it is still considered a post-9/11 security-specific legislation and that is the overall topic of my paper.        

Sarasohn, David. “Patriots vs. the Patriot Act.”  The Nation, 22 Sept. 2003 InfoTrac OneFile. GaleGroup. 16 Mar. 2004. <http://web7.infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/643/21/44179008w7/purl=rc10_ITOF_antiterrorism+act+of+2001_5ma&dyn=25!lnk_A107625666+271+Antiterrorism+Act+of+2001?sw_aep=plan_skyline>.

Stuart Taylor, Jr., and Ms. Beth Wilkinson Moderated by Mr. Jeffrey Toobin

This panel discussion from the American Criminal Law Review has the following points: “Enacted in late October of 2001 in response to the September 11 [2001] attacks, the USA PATRIOT Act altered the existing balance between law enforcement capabilities and the expectations of American citizens.” 


Toobin, Jeffrey (moderator). “The USA-PATRIOT Act and the American Response to Terror: Can We Protect Civil Liberties after September 11?” American Criminal Law Review Fall 2002. InfoTrac OneFile. GaleGroup. 26 April 2004. <http://web7.infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/387/479/47368115w7/purl=rc2_ITOF_1_USA-PATRIOT+Act+and+the+American+response+to+terror_________________________________________________________&dyn=sig!1?sw_aep=plan_skyline>.

This article documents a Panel Discussion with Congressman Barney Frank, Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff, Professor David Cole, Mr. Stuart Taylor, Jr., and Ms. Beth Wilkinson.

 

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last revised: 5-7-04 by Eric Brenner, Skyline College, San Bruno, CA

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