Sense No. 64-2004 2005

Introduced by Legislator Viloria-Fisher

SENSE OF THE LEGISLATURE RESOLUTION URGING FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS TO UPHOLD CIVIL RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES

WHEREAS, the protection of civil rights and civil liberties is essential to

the well being of a free and democratic society; and the members of the

Suffolk County Legislature believe that there is no inherent conflict

between national security and the preservation of liberty - Americans can be

both safe and free; and

WHEREAS, Suffolk County has a diverse population, including immigrants

and students, whose contributions to the County are vital to its economy,

culture and civic character; and

WHEREAS, government security measures that undermine fundamental rights do

damage to the American institutions and values that the residents of Suffolk

County hold dear; and

WHEREAS, federal, state and local governments should protect the public from

terrorist attacks, such as those that occurred on September 11, 2001, but

should do so in a rational and deliberative fashion in order to ensure that

security measures enhance the public safety without impairing constitutional

rights or infringing on civil liberties; and

WHEREAS, certain federal policies adopted since September 11, 2001,

including certain provisions in the USA PATRIOT Act (Public Law 107-56), the

Homeland Security Act of 2002, and related executive orders, regulations and

actions, threaten fundamental rights and liberties by:

(a) authorizing the indefinite incarceration of non-citizens based on mere

suspicion, and the indefinite incarceration of citizens designated as "enemy

combatants" without access to counsel or meaningful recourse to the federal

courts;

(b) limiting the traditional authority of federal courts to curb law

enforcement abuse of electronic surveillance in anti-terrorism

investigations and ordinary criminal investigations;

(c) expanding the authority of federal agents to conduct so-called "sneak

and peek" or "black bag" searches, in which the subject of the search

warrant is unaware that his property has been searched, and which violates

Rule41(d) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure as well as the fourth Amendment;

(d) granting law enforcement and intelligence agencies broad access to

personal medical, financial, library and education records with little if

any judicial oversight;

(e) chilling constitutionally protected speech through over broad

definitions of "terrorism";

(f) driving a wedge between immigrant communities and the police that

protect them by encouraging involvement of state and local police in

enforcement of federal immigration law; and

(g) permitting the FBI to conduct surveillance of religious services,

Internet chatrooms, political demonstrations, and other public meetings of

any kind without having any evidence that a crime has been committed; and

WHEREAS, these new powers pose a particular threat to the civil rights and

liberties of the residents of our County who are or who appear to be Arab,

Muslim or of South Asian descent; and

WHEREAS, acts of civil disobedience could be declared as acts of 'domestic

terrorism', under Section 802 of the Patriot Act, a definition so broad that

it could have labeled Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. a domestic terrorist; and

WHEREAS, the federal government has drafted new legislation entitled the

Domestic Security Enhancement Act (DSEA) (also known as PATRIOT II), which

contains sweeping new law enforcement and intelligence gathering powers,

many of which are not related to terrorism, that would further compromise

constitutional rights, and further undermine our government's unique system

of checks and balances; and

WHEREAS, the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 which

amends the term “financial institution”, along with prior law, has given FBI

agents power to obtain any information upon request from any business

without suspicion of criminal wrong doing or terrorist activity, without

judicial oversight or a system of checks and balances, with criminal

prosecution in potential violation of a person~s Fourth Amendment right; and

WHEREAS, four states and more than 365 communities throughout the country

have enacted resolutions that reaffirm support for civil rights and civil

liberties and that demand accountability from law enforcement agencies

regarding the exercise of the extraordinary new powers referred to herein;

NOW, therefore, be it

1st RESOLVED, that the Suffolk County Legislature opposes the secret

detention of persons and the detention of persons without charges or access

to a lawyer, and therefore calls upon the Suffolk County Police Department

and other relevant law enforcement to refrain from such police activity; and

be further

2nd RESOLVED, that the Suffolk County Legislature calls upon federal, state

and local officials, and upon Suffolk agencies and institutions, to affirm,

uphold and protect civil rights and civil liberties; and be it further;

3rd RESOLVED, that the Suffolk County Legislature affirms its strong support

for the rights of immigrants and opposes measures that single out

individuals for legal scrutiny or enforcement activity based primarily upon

their country of origin; and be it further

4th RESOLVED, that the Suffolk County Legislature affirms its commitment to

uphold civil rights and civil liberties, and therefore expresses its

opposition to:

(a) investigation and surveillance of individuals or groups of individuals

based on their participation in activities protected by the First Amendment,

such as political advocacy or the practice of a religion, without reasonable

suspicion of criminal activity unrelated to the activity protected by the

First Amendment;

(b) the collection or maintenance of information about the political,

religious or social views, associations or activities of any individual,

group, association, organization, corporation, business or partnership,

whether such information is obtained by police officers acting alone or in

conjunction with state or federal law enforcement officials, unless that

information directly relates to an investigation of criminal activities, and

unless there are reasonable grounds to suspect the subject of the

information is or may be involved in criminal conduct;

(c) racial, religious or ethnic profiling;

(d) the denial of bail to any person without proving a potential danger or

risk of flight as allowed under The Pretrial Detention and Lifetime

Supervision of Terrorist Act of 2003

(e) the establishment of a network of general surveillance cameras unless

such a network is subject to regulations that provide reasonable and

effective protections of privacy and due process rights of individuals who

appear in recorded material; and

(f) "sneak and peek" searches, pursuant to Section 213 of the Patriot Act;

and

(g) the broadened use of National Security Letters, which deny judicial

oversight and hinder the American system of checks and balances; and

(h) the loose definition of ~domestic terrorism~ as given by the Patriot

Act, which is so broad it could encompass acts of civil disobedience by

protest groups; and

(i) establishment or maintenance of an anti-terrorism reporting system that

creates an electronic record on an individual, unless it is subject to

regulations that provide for the protection of individuals subject to

unfounded reports; and be it further

5th RESOLVED, that the Suffolk County Legislature opposes requests by

federal authorities that, if granted, would cause agencies of the Suffolk

County Legislature to violate a County ordinance, or the state or federal

Constitution.

6th RESOLVED, that the Suffolk County Legislature urges each of the County's

public libraries to inform library patrons when, and that, their records and

Internet Activity have been provided to federal agencies; and be it further

7th RESOLVED, that the Suffolk County Legislature opposes any use of National

Security Letters or its additional employment when coupled with Section 334

of the Intelligence Authorization Act of 2004; and be it further

8th RESOLVED, that the Suffolk County Legislature opposes the unregulated

system of Computer Identification Programs (CIP's) created by Section 326 of

the Patriot Act, which requires most businesses to install and utilize

CIP~s, without suspicion of terrorism or wrongdoing and without judicial

review, hindering businesses and violating the constitutional rights of

their employees and customers; and be it further

9th RESOLVED, that in order to assess the effect of anti-terrorism

initiatives on the residents of Suffolk County, the County Legislature calls

upon federal officials to make periodic reports, consistent with the Freedom

of Information Act, that include:

(a) the number of Suffolk residents who have been arrested or otherwise

detained by federal authorities as a result of terrorism investigations

since September 11, 2001;

(b) the number of search warrants that have been executed in Suffolk County

without notice to the subject of the warrant pursuant to section 213 of the

USA PATRIOT Act;

(c) the number of electronic surveillance actions carried out in Suffolk

County under powers granted in the USA PATRIOT Act;

(d) the number of investigations undertaken by federal authorities to

monitor political meetings, religious gatherings or other activities

protected by the First Amendment within Suffolk County;

(e) the number of times education records have been obtained from public

schools and institutions of higher learning located in Suffolk County under

section 507 of the USA PATRIOT Act;

(f) the number of times library records have been obtained from Public

Library within Suffolk County under section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act; and

(g) the number of times that records of the books purchased by store

patrons have been obtained from bookstores in Suffolk County under section

215 of the USA PATRIOT Act; and be it further

10th RESOLVED, that the Suffolk County Legislature calls upon our United

States Representatives and Senators to monitor the implementation of the USA

PATRIOT Act and related federal actions and to actively work for the repeal

of those sections of the USA PATRIOT Act and related federal actions that

unduly infringe upon fundamental civil rights and civil liberties as

recognized in the U.S. Constitution; and be it further

11th RESOLVED, that the Suffolk County Legislature calls upon our United

States Representatives and Senators to actively pursue and the New York

State Congressional Delegation to take the lead in Congressional action to

prohibit passage of Federal Acts that violate the Federal and New York State

Constitutions and Suffolk County Laws; and be it further

12th RESOLVED, that the Suffolk County Legislature calls upon our United

States Representatives and Senators to actively pursue and the New York

State Congressional Delegation to take the lead in Congressional action for

the passage of any other legislation which aids in both the protection of

civil liberties and the prevention of terrorism, and be it further;

13th RESOLVED, that the Suffolk County Legislature calls upon Governor

George Pataki, New York State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno New York

State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, the New York Attorney General Eliot

Spitzer, and the members of the State Senate and Assembly to ensure that

state anti-terrorism laws and policies are implemented in a manner that does

not infringe upon fundamental civil rights and civil liberties as recognized

in the Federal and New York State Constitution.

14th RESOLVED, that the Clerk of the Legislature is hereby directed to

transmit a copy of this resolution to President George Bush; Govern George

E. Pataki; to the Majority Leader of the New York State Senate Joseph L.

Bruno; to the Speaker of the New York State Assembly Sheldon Silver; to the

New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer; to the Minority Leaders of

the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly; and to each

member of the Long Island delegation to the New York State Legislature.