The Fourth Amendment Hates the Troops

Parts of the USA Patriot Act have been struck down because, in the words of the ruling, it "permits the executive branch of government to conduct surveillance and searches of American citizens without satisfying the probable cause requirements of the Fourth Amendment."

Yes, we still have a fourth amendment, and just as importantly, we still have a few judges who realize it's still there. It exists, it still matters, and by the way, it doesn't admit of exceptions for cases where the President is a semi-literate who thinks he's in conversation with god, nor for cases where terrorism has made people really scared, nor for cases where Dick Cheney, FoxNews, and the editors of National Review, if they had their druthers, would have it vanish. Note the perfect absence of such caveats and exceptions in its phrasing:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Yay Bill of Rights! Thanks to this ruling, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison are spinning a little more slowly in their graves.