Patriot Act defiance on the rise · 10:17 AM on Tuesday, April 22, 2003 MSNBC: Local officials defy the Patriot Act. Thus far I’m unaware of the Justice Department making noise about such actions, but this one should get their attention. [Arcata, California] was one of the first cities to pass resolutions against global warming and a unilateral war in Iraq. Last month, it joined the rising chorus of municipalities to pass a resolution urging local law enforcement officials and others contacted by federal officials to refuse requests under the Patriot Act that they believe violate an individual’s civil rights under the Constitution. Then, the city went a step further. This little city (pop.: 16,000) has become the first in the nation to pass an ordinance that outlaws voluntary compliance with the Patriot Act [emphasis mine]. “I call this a nonviolent, preemptive attack,” said David Meserve, the freshman City Council member who drafted the ordinance with the help of the Arcata city attorney, city manager and police chief.
But State law mean fuck when it conflicts with Federal law as as we all saw with the Ed Rosenthal case. As least the judge there had the good sense to give Ed a punishment that whilst complying with Federal law also applied some discretion and ultimately allowed him to walk free.