Audrey Collins, a US District Judge, representing the Central District of California, found that Congress failed to improve the issues she brought forth in a 2004 ruling that struck down key provisions of the Patriot Act legislation. Her ruling was handed down on July 28 and released the following day. ?Even as amended, the statute fails to identify the prohibited conduct in a manner that persons of ordinary intelligence can reasonably understand,? the ruling said. Collins issued an injunction against enforcement of the sections she found vague but stated that her ruling applies only to the named plaintiffs and does not constitute a nationwide injunction. ?I?m pleased that the court has recognized that people have a right to support lawful, nonviolent activities of groups the secretary of state has put on a blacklist,? said David Cole, the attorney and Georgetown University law professor who argued the case on behalf of the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Humanitarian Law Project.

Tasis Scolinos, speaking on behalf of the US Justice Department, said the department was pleased that the judge ruled in favor of the government in four out of five claims. ?The judge?s ruling affects only one small aspect of the Patriot Act, and it does not change the facts surrounding the act,? Scolinos said. ?There has not been one verified civil liberties complaint against the act since its inception, and it has successfully broken down walls between the intelligence and the law enforcement community.?