Court Upholds Warrantless Searches Overseas

November 25, 2008 · Filed Under Legal News, War on Terror

The second-circuit court of appeals has ruled the requirement for warrants and Miranda warnings do not apply to American citizens living abroad.

The authorities may lawfully conduct searches and electronic surveillance against United States citizens in foreign countries without a warrant, a federal appeals court panel said on Monday, bolstering the government’s power to investigate terrorism by ruling that a key constitutional protection afforded to Americans does not apply overseas.

The unanimous decision by a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in Manhattan, came in the case of three Al Qaeda terrorists convicted a few months before 9/11 in a conspiracy that involved the 1998 bombings of two American embassies in East Africa.

Thank God the ruling came down in favor of national security. The idea that Americans living abroad are entitled to the same rights as Americans living at home is absurd. This is was just another attempt by the ACLU to gum up the works and prevent our intelligence agencies from protecting this country.

(hat tip Hot Air)