Oregon attorney calls on Congress to police eavedropping

By William McCall, Associated Press Writer
Saturday, November 17, 2007 | 2 comment(s)

Font Size: Shrink Font Enlarge Font |
PORTLAND - An Oregon lawyer who won a ruling that provisions of the USA Patriot Act are unconstitutional has urged Congress to resist Bush administration efforts to overhaul a law requiring oversight of government surveillance.

Brandon Mayfield challenged the Patriot Act over secret surveillance and searches of his home and office after the FBI misidentified a fingerprint in the Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people in 2004.

The FBI publicly apologized to Mayfield for the mistake and settled a lawsuit for $2 million.

In September, U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken ruled on his challenge to the searches, issuing a sharply worded rebuke to the administration that warned the Patriot Act allows the government to sidestep Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.

The White House since has been pushing for a rewrite of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, which requires court oversight of surveillance.

On Thursday, the House approved a bill to strengthen that oversight, drawing an immediate veto threat from President Bush.

The Democratic bill also stopped short of providing legal immunity to telecommunication companies that help the government eavesdrop on phone calls and e-mail.

Mayfield wrote a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee members Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Russell Feingold, D-Wis., urging them to protect FISA from amendments that could weaken it.

“The Patriot Act weakened the requirements the government needed under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in order to bug my home and office,” Mayfield wrote.

“When legislation is written that waters down the standard of the Fourth Amendment, it is not the guilty who suffer, but the innocent,” he said.

The letter was supported by the American Civil Liberties Union.

“Mr. Mayfield’s case is a cautionary tale,” said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU legislative office in Washington, D.C.

“Mr. Mayfield’s experience has taught us that expanding government powers without checks and balances can actually affect and ruin people’s lives.”

———

On the Net:

Mayfield letter: http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/32770leg20071101.html
Tags »
Previous Email this story to yourself or a friend Print this story Next

Have you checked out The World Link Forums?

Comments

The comments below are from users of theworldlink.com and do not necessarily represent the views of The World or Lee Enterprises. Participation Guidelines

Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Comment Policy

The World welcomes your comments about stories, and we encourage a robust dialogue on this site. All comments must meet reasonable standards of decency and civility.

Please follow these basic rules:

  • No defamatory comments about individuals or businesses.
  • No deliberately false information.
  • No obscenity or racially offensive language.
  • No harassment, verbal abuse, threats or personal attacks.
  • No information that invades another person's privacy.
  • No business solicitations or charitable solicitations.
Comments that violate these standards will not be posted. Users with repeated violations may be banned from future posting.

Comments will be approved throughout the day during business hours. After hours and weekend comments may not appear until the following business day. It may take a couple of hours before comments are approved.

The World generally does not edit comments, but we reserve the right to edit any comment that does not meet our standards.

Close Guidelines

Betty L. Kilgore wrote on Feb 9, 2008 7:04 PM:

How can I contact Mr. Evans? He is a friend of mine. Betty L. Kilgore

Evans Jr wrote on Jan 18, 2008 12:18 AM:

Why Five years for a Trial, Not Guilty Verdicts in Abington Virginia Terror Trial Are Snag for U.S. Page1

Herbert G Evans Jr. wins his Case, his Freedom and Battle against the False Charges
Of Convicted Convicts, U.S. Government and FBI
Hebert Evans Jr. was falsely accused of being a terrorist!!!
By Elwood Evans
November 15, 2007
As the Jury asked their one question of the court, “Why has it taken Five years to give this man his trial?” And then return their Not Guilty verdict for the 79 Year old Mr. Evans
Abington Virginia, Nov. 14th - In a 2nd major crushing loss Government prosecutors which pursued Mr. Evans conviction for five years, a jury in Abington Virginia failed to return guilty verdict Wednesday on a criminal charge against a 79 Year old Military Veteran; an innocent man falsely accused of being a terrorist!!!
How that could have happened to a 79 year old, US Military Veteran? A USA 20 year Veteran Falsely Accused Of Terrorism!!!
Mr. Evans 74 year old retired Military veteran went to the Rural Development Agency (RDA) office in Wytheville, Virginia, in November 2002, complain about a wrong past due note on a housing loan, “Evans became "extremely angry and loud" according to the clerk at a (RDA) with whom he spoke and allegedly made threats involving terrorist acts with chemical and biological weapons.”
Mr. Evans was imprisoned for five years after being falsely accused of being a terrorist, a misdemeanor charge of "Forcibly, assaulting, resisting or impeding" a federal USDA employee under 18 U.S.C.A. 111(a) (1) with a maximum penalty of one year's imprisonment. ... After Five Years a Abington Virginia court found Mr. Evans not guilty

Then Judge informed the Jury that it wasn’t their concern on “Why has it has taken Five years to give this man his trial?” in delivering their verdict. But ultimately, the jury in Abington Virginia that heard the case found him not guilty of the alleged charge of "Forcibly, assaulting, resisting or impeding" a federal USDA employee,

As well as in a previous trial on 24th September 2007 in Abington VA where another Jury team returned a not guilty verdict “As the Judge told the Jury you should be Proud and hold Heads up , no greater honor” for their leadership who deliberated only 10mins and entered a Verdict of NOT Guilty to a 2nd felony charge For the 79 year Old Mr. Evans,
“America should applaud the patriotism of public defenders and especially the Jury team “The Public Defenders who delivered there two major crushing losses to the Government prosecutors; The Public Defenders that worked so hard over the past five years to investigate this complex criminal Government conspiracy scheme and uncover the truth of the false imprisonment of Mr. Evans as well as bring the wrongdoers to justice.”
The Jury heard the real truth that Mr. Evans actual did not "Forcibly, assault" the federal USDA employee nor threaten any one but simply went and proofed with receipts from his payments to the USDA who is supposed to supply housing to low income veterans like Mr. Evans, the RDA had in deed tried to foreclose on his house with several errors they had made in house payments he was just trying to protect his home his castle, Mr. Evans Falsely Accused Of Terrorism now another US innocent victim of the Sept. 11 attacks; the fact that someone is accused by the Bush administration of being a terrorist does not, in fact, mean that they are a “terrorist.”
"The Jury “The real Americans”, to say categorically that there is no evidence to indicate that Mr. Evans has committed any offense or that his activities constitute a threat neither to the security of USA nor to the Rural Development Agency (RDA) office in Wytheville, Virginia.
It looks like the US Government have managed to persecute an innocent 79 year old, US Military Veteran , and that the terrorists have won another minor victory - this is not acceptable, and the politicians who are responsible must act to remedy this situation. The tragedy of the violation of a human's rights, 5 years of 79 year old Veterans life gone, now having to start over again after losing ever thing he worked for.

Herbert G Evans Jr. wins his Case, his Freedom and Battle Page 2
Against the False Charges
Of Convicted Convicts, U.S. Government and FBI

Evans thrilled over his freedom and victory proudly stands between his two Public Defenders you battled and won against
The US Government and FBI on 24th September 2007 in Abington VA,
24th September 2007 in Abington VA , Evans freedom and victory was due to The Public Defender’s fight to expose the truth about Two convicted convicts; who were convicted of selling OxyContin and possessing Firearms with more than 20 year sentences facing each of them, were working as Government/FBI informants and were Conspiring with the FBI in order to have there sentences reduced by John L. Brownlee, United States Attorney , Randy Ramseyer Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, in which the Two convicts; Conspired and falsely claiming as well as accusing that a 79 year Old retired Military Veteran Mr. Evans, wanted to kill a Federal Judge, in order for the Two convicts to have their more than 20 year sentences reduced.
“I applaud the patriotism of public defenders and especially the Jury team “As the Judge told the Jury you should be Proud and hold Heads up , no greater honor” for their leadership who deliberated only 10mins and entered a Verdict of NOT Guilty to felony charge For the 79 year Old Mr. Evans, as well as the Public Defenders the late Monroe Jamison , Nancy Dickenson and Public Defenders Investigator Gina Humphrey ; that worked so hard over the past five years to investigate this complex criminal Government conspiracy scheme and uncover the truth of the false imprisonment of Mr. Evans as well as bring the wrongdoers to justice.”
“I commend the highly qualified team of Public Defenders and investigator from the Western District of Virginia, for developing a defense and exposing the false imprisonment of Mr. Evans, that addresses the criminal violations falsification of the Two convicts, ensures strict compliance in the future, and serves as a strong warning to the Government Informants’ who may consider illegally conspiring against innocent people to further their cases”
“The convicted criminal’s falsification of information and Government conspiracy is a very serious breach of the public’s trust in Judicial System. Today’s Not Guilty plea marked a significant milestone in the fight against Government and FBI corruption by Convicts and FBI Informants’ who seek reduce sentences , as well as to illegally enrich OxyContin type corporate profits at taxpayers’ expense”
This Not Guilty Verdict for MR. Evans; demonstrate Public Defenders steadfast resolve to investigate any individuals who would defraud Justice System, such as the Government/FBI convicted convicts informants, which were Conspiring with the FBI in order to have there sentences reduced . The Public Defenders are committed to working with other law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Attorney to fight this type of Government and FBI corruption as well as the false imprisonment innocent people such as MR
Evans. The fact that I, Mr. Evans was found not guilty; tells me that our freedom and liberty are still intact. And that the 20 years I spent in the Air force and Army defending the Bill of Rights” your rights” founding forefathers’ Constitution, Was not wasted service time for my country. “The American creed of freedom, liberty and justice for all!!!!"
Thank you for your unending public service and my Freedom and Victory, Thank you for taking over my case and for getting my Life, Freedom and Family Back; Herbert G Evans Jr. and Family

Page 3
Where Is the American Freedom, "The Star-Spangled Banner?” The Freedom it represents, land of the free , the blessings of liberty,
In a 5 year Fourth Circuit case, United States v. Evans shows the ludicrousness that attaches to the prosecution of crime when criminal intent is disregarded.
Mr. Evans 74 year old veteran went to the Rural Development Agency office to complain about a wrong past due note on a housing loan, Evans became agitated and angry with a clerk at a (RDA). Town Police arrived at the scene, and Evans advised them that he was not attempting to threaten the employee, but instead “the system.”
On November 14, 2002, federal agents arrested Mr. Evans for the misdemeanor of assault,


*Member ID:
*Password:
 

Not already registered?

Do not use usernames or passwords from your financial accounts!

Note: Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required!



*Create a Member ID:
*Choose a password:
*Re-enter password:
*E-mail Address:
*Year of Birth:
 

(children under 13 cannot register)

*First Name:
*Last Name:
Would you like to be added to our mailing lists?
Daily Headlines
Breaking News
Special Offers
 
Advanced Search
Web Search powered by YAHOO! SEARCH

Blogroll

Most Popular

Polls

» View Past Poll Results
» Suggest a Poll

Marketplace

Special Sections

More Special Sections