The American Bar Association, an outspoken critic of certain Bush administration anti-terrorism polices, on Tuesday opposed the renewal of surveillance powers granted to the executive branch in a post-Sept. 11 law.
The ABA's policymaking body voted to oppose efforts to repeal the Dec. 31, 2005, expiration date of the powers contained in the USA Patriot Act until Congress reviews whether they have been used properly and determines if they should be extended.
The law, which was adopted shortly after the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, gives the executive branch broad new law enforcement, immigration and intelligence-gathering authority.
The article on the ABA is here from Reuters via Findlaw.com. For the record, the ACLU doesn't like it much either.