On September 6, 2007, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that the practice of issuing National Security Letters (NSLs) pursuant to the reauthorized USA Patriot Act require judicial review. US District Judge Victor Marrero issued the decision of the court, which stated in relevant part that NSLs requesting personal information of, or imposing gag orders on, recipients without prior court approval were violated several constitutional principles including separation of powers and First Amendment rights.

Learn more about the Patriot Act from the JURIST news archive.