- The Debates - Profs Take on "Primary Purpose" Test

In an article, recently published, in the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, one provision of PATRIOT, "perhaps the most controversial", is posited to need reform. The section has been so controversial because it was intented to break down a barrier between Foreign Intelligence, and Criminal Law, known as "the wall". Prior to PATRIOT, it was the Justice Departments policy to deal with "the wall" by "limiting contact between foreign intelligence agents in the FBI and federal prosecutors". Ironically, a Court of Review found that "the wall" actually didn't exist in the first place, except by the actual passing of the PATRIOT Act, which assumed it's existence. PATRIOT served to build "the wall", albeit a smaller one, than what was misconstrued to have existed previously. (I know. Wrap your mind around that one.) The Professors cover, in 145 pages( Of which I have read 1/4), how the Justice Department may employ a loophole to get over "the wall" today. The authors justify reforming the legislation in order to render any such maneuvering, on the part of the government, unnecessary, and that contact between the various Agencies may be unfettered.
- The Debates - Profs Take on "Primary Purpose" Test