[MAPC-discuss] More patriotic fallout...

[MAPC-discuss] More patriotic fallout...

born-digital

email

yes

no

2001-11-14

Hello,

Below is an electronic version (available at www.abffe.com)
of a letter recently sent to booksellers nationwide from the American
Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) based in NYC.  It
speaks volumes about the climate of fear and imposed political
conformity that has been precipitated by the counter-terrorism
legislation.  I fear further erosion of our civil liberties lies
ahead - don't take anything for granted anymore in this "democracy"...

- X, Madison

*************************

November 1, 2001

Dear Bookseller,

Last week, President Bush signed into law an antiterrorism bill that
gives the federal government expanded authority to search your
business records, including the titles of the books purchased by your
customers. This letter contains
our best legal judgment on what you should do if you are served with
a court order under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

Under the new law, the director of the FBI may seek an order "for any
tangible things (including books, records, papers, documents, and
other items) for an investigation to protect against international
terrorism or clandestine
intelligence activities." The request for such an order is made to a
judge who sits in a special court that is sometimes called the "spy
court." The judge makes his decision "ex parte," meaning there is no
opportunity for you or your
lawyer to object in court. You cannot object publically either. The
new law includes a gag order that prevents you from disclosing "to
any other person" the fact that you have received an order to produce
documents.

ABFFE is deeply concerned by the potential chilling effect of court
orders issued to booksellers under this new law. Normally, when a
bookseller receives a subpoena for customer information, he or she
has the opportunity to ask the
court to quash the order on First Amendment grounds. In several
cases, booksellers have successfully resisted subpoenas.

Under FISA, however, booksellers may not have this chance. Depending
on the wording of the order, the bookseller may be required to
immediately turn over the records that are being sought.

Nevertheless, ABFFE's advice to booksellers who receive a court order
under FISA remains the same as it is to those who receive a subpoena.
The first thing you should do is call your attorney. Then, either you
or your attorney should
contact ABFFE so that we can put you in touch with lawyers who are
familiar with the law surrounding the privacy of bookstore records.

Although the wording of the law seems to suggest that contacting
anyone about the court order is forbidden, it is ABFFE's belief that
you remain entitled to legal counsel. Therefore, you may call your
attorney and/or ABFFE.
Because of the gag order, however, you should not tell ABFFE that you
have received a court order under FISA.  You can simply tell us that
you need to contact ABFFE's legal counsel.

Legal counsel is important even in cases where it is not possible to
challenge a court order. It may be possible for you to have a lawyer
present during a search of your store records. If so, the lawyer will
be able to help you ensure that
there is no violation of the privacy of your other customers.

However, it is possible that the FBI will demand immediate access to
your records. If the agents are unwilling to permit you to contact
your attorney, you should cooperate with them. Otherwise, you may be
arrested for disobeying
a court order. If you have no choice but to turn over records, the
best thing you can do is help the FBI find the information that it is
looking for and thus avoid exposing the records of other customers.
If you have legal questions
after the search had been conducted, you can call your attorney or
ABFFE will put you in touch with its lawyers.

At times of national crisis, civil liberties are very vulnerable.
Although the new antiterrorism law contains a number of provisions
that were deeply disturbing to civil libertarians, it passed the
House by a vote of 356-to-66. In the Senate, Russell D. Feingold of
Wisconsin was the only dissenting vote.

We believe the climate of opinion will eventually shift, allowing a
reasoned debate of the dangers posed by these provisions. In the
meantime, ABFFE will continue to work to remind public officials of
the danger of sacrificing free
speech in the quest for security.

I want to take this opportunity to thank ABFFE members for their
support and to urge anyone who isn't a member to consider joining
now. Whether we can continue to act as the bookseller's voice in the
vote against censorship depends on you.

Yours very truly,

X
President
--

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Wednesday, November 14, 2001 4:45 PM

[MAPC-discuss] More patriotic fallout...