15 NJ towns, 2 counties oppose Patriot Act provisions

By WAYNE PARRY
Associated Press Writer

May 20, 2005, 4:04 PM EDT

NEWARK, N.J. -- As Congress considers whether to expand government powers to fight terrorism, 15 New Jersey municipalities and two counties are opposing portions of the USA Patriot Act, and state lawmakers are considering similar action.

New Brunswick on Wednesday joined the list of communities lined up against parts of the act, which expires at the end of the year and is up for renewal.

Officials in New Brunswick passed a resolution opposing portions of the law, enacted shortly after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, "that may infringe on important civil liberties ... including presumption of innocence, due process, legal counsel and probable cause (and) protection from unreasonable searches and seizures."

Critics of the act have assailed its so-called libraries provision, which allows authorities to examine "tangible items" such as business records, credit card receipts and library records as part of foreign intelligence or international terrorism investigations. Another provision drawing fire makes it easier to obtain secret search warrants, once exclusively for use in foreign intelligence cases, in criminal cases.

"I commend the City Council of New Brunswick for taking a stand to ensure that we remain both safe and free," said Deborah Jacobs, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey.

Nationwide, seven states and 378 local or county governments have passed resolutions opposing parts of the act, saying they unacceptably compromise civil liberties.

In New Jersey, Englewood, Ewing, Franklin Township in Somerset County, Highland Park, Keansburg, Lawrence Township, Montclair, Mullica, New Brunswick, Paterson, Phillipsburg, Plainfield, Princeton Borough, West Windsor and Willingboro have passed such resolutions, as have the governments of Mercer and Passaic counties.

A bill pending in the state Assembly calls on Congress to "change the USA Patriot Act to ensure that constitutional civil rights and liberties are not unduly infringed upon." The bill, sponsored by Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-Mercer, has not yet been scheduled for a vote.

Aref Assaf, president of the Arab American Forum of New Jersey, urged passage of the state measure. He said the bill "sends a clear message to our federal officials to revisit the egregious aspect of the act and ensure that the civil liberties of Americans are protected. The delicate balance between liberty and security is a fundamental duty of elected officials."

But Assembleymen Guy Gregg and Joseph Pennacchio, Republicans from Morris County, said the proposed resolution is so vague it is worthless because it does not specify which portions of the Patriot Act should be repealed.

"New Jersey is in the epicenter of potential targets for terrorist activities," they wrote in a statement that highlighted links between New Jersey and the Sept. 11 attackers, as well elevated threat levels last summer at Prudential Financial in Newark.

"Clearly, New Jersey's residents need the protections provided by the Patriot Act," the statement read.

The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee meanwhile is working on a bill that would renew the act and expand government powers, letting the FBI subpoena records without permission from a judge or grand jury.