Terrorism in America: The US Criminal Code Title 18 Part 1 Chapter 113B - Essay Sample

Introduction

The principle criminal code of the United States Title 18 part 1 chapter 113B defines terrorism as violent acts to human life. The Act is a violation of US's or any State's criminal law committed within the jurisdiction of the US or any other State. The action is usually intended to intimidate a civilian population, influence government policy through coercion of affecting government conduct by mass destruction, assassination or kidnapping (Simeon, 2019). Terrorism in America has seen many states strengthening their deterrent efforts by enacting legislation aimed at terroristic acts not covered under traditional criminal law. Since terrorism has become a significant threat in the US, several bills have therefore been put in place in the quest to help curb it.

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USA Patriot Act

The congress passed it on September 11, 2011, following in response to the terrorist attack. It was designed to expand the powers of the intelligent and low enforcement agencies to surveil, investigate and detain suspected terrorists (Doyle,2015). Its main objective was to deter and punish terrorist acts in the US and enhance law enforcement tools of the investigation by reducing restrictions to law enforcement requests to disclosure to electronic information. That disclosure was aimed at the protection of life and against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities.

Homeland Security act

It was enacted in 2002 after the 2001 US terrorist attack. Its primary aim was the protection of terrorist attack within the nation, reduction of the state's vulnerability to terrorism, minimizing of damage and assisting in recovery after terrorist attacks. The Act provides authority to homeland security secretary to control investigation and access he needed the information to investigate terrorism. (Doyle, 2015).

Jurisdictional Overlaps in the Patriot Act and Homeland Security Act

They were both enacted after the 2001 US terrorist attack to aid in the provision of appropriate tools needed to intercept and construct a terrorism act (Simeon, 2019). They also overlap in terms of helping in the creation of a slew of new federal crimes related to terrorism. They also create federal funds to assist terrorism victims and seize funds used by organizations connected to terrorism. They also overlap in their passage into law which was done the congress to protect US citizens and the entire nation from any viable threat. Both their underlying intent overlap as both allow government access to private information for investigation that deems necessary to protect the country. Finally, they both concur that records are the agency's greatest asset.

Conflicts of Law in Patriot Acts and Homeland Security Acts

Patriot's Act contains statutes of detaining immigrant's suspected of terrorism for lengthy and indefinite periods. That inflates the executive powers and limits the exercise of these powers from congregational oversight (Doyle. 2005). Homeland security Act breaches the privacy of respecting individual's health information, thus challenging the ethics of many healthcare organizations and this conflicts with the law. Patriot Act confers unchecked powers on the executive branch that disregards the rule of law. It is radical in its design owing to the un precedenting degrees of sacrificing freedom in the name of national security. That undermines the state's democratic values by consolidating the vast new powers in the government's executive branch (Friedman, 2011). Homeland Security act also conflicts with the law through their implementation of broader surveillance systems which may have limitations of data integration barriers and inadequate infrastructure.

Conclusion

Terrorism is one of the major crises facing the US. Lack of guaranteed harmonization of laws in the US's constitution saw the implementation of the Homeland security act and patriot's acts to help curb terrorism. Besides the challenges, both bills, among others, have aided the US in the prevention and protection of terrorism.

References

Doyle, C. (2005, August). USA PATRIOT Act: Background and Comparison of House- andSenateapproved Reauthorization and Related Legislative Action .CongregessionalResearch Service. Retrieved from https://fas.org

Friedman, B.A. (2011, November). Managing Fear: The Politics of Homeland Security. PoliticalScience Quarterly, 126 (1), 77-106. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org

Simeon, J.C. (2019, February).The Evolving Common Law: Jurisprudence Combating the Threatof Terrorism in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. Creative CommonsAttribution, 8 (1), 5. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.3390/laws801005