Army to enforce laws unless the constitution or an act of congress explicitly authorized such use. As originally passed, the posse comitatus act pca read, from and after the passage of this act it shall not be lawful to employ any part of the army of the united states, as a posse comitatus, or otherwise, for the purpose of executing the laws, except in such cases and under such circumstances as such employment of said force may be expressly. Constitution or act of congress, willfully uses any. But a new department of defense publication says there are exceptions to the posse comitatus act pca of 1878, which drew the line at the armed forces performing civilian law enforcement activities, like arresting people, spying on them, and searching their homes.
The use of the military to execute civilian law, crs report 95964 in which the authorities for the statements made here may be found. Its doctrine dates back to english common law, in which a county sheriff could raise a posse comitatus to repress a civil disturbance or for other purposes. Language the origins of posse comitatus are to be found in domestic law. The posse comitatus act, signed into law by president rutherford b. Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the constitution or act of congress, willfully uses any part of the army or air force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both. But it also contains a provision that allows the act to be temporarily repealed in some instances. What links here related changes upload file special pages permanent link page information wikidata item.
The compromise which emerged from conference opted to forbid only willful violations, but nothing in the legislative history explains. The posse comitatus act outlaws the willful use of any part of the army or air force to execute the law unless expressly authorized by the constitution or an act of congress. Ive been giving this some thought, lately, and i believe that the posse comitatus act of 1878 needs to fall by the wayside. Ndaa 2014 nulifies posse comitatus act of 1878 liberty. The posse comitatus act of 1878 and the end of reconstruction.
Well, before the posse comitatus act was passed, congress passed the insurrection act of 1807 pub. This is an abridged version of the posse comitatus act and related matters. Congress created a drug exception to the posse comitatus act. Before 1878, the use of the us army in support of and at times instead of civil law enforcement was rare.
Army but was amended in 1956 to include the air force. Spak posse comitatus means the power or force of the county. This report summarizes proposed bills that could result in increased interaction between military and civil authorities. The law the president seems to be referring to is the posse comitatus act, the longstanding federal statute that restricts the governments ability to use the. The title of the act harkened to an ancient institution of english law whereby the local lord could raise a citizen militia to maintain public order, but the purpose of the 1878 law was to protect the citizenry from encroachments by government. Congress has also enacted a number of statutes that authorize the use of the land and naval forces to execute their objective. The law was passed as an amendment to an army appropriation bill following the end of reconstruction and was subsequently amended in 1956 and 1981. Hayes the white house at the cost of ending reconstruction. In the aftermath of the reconstruction, congress passed the posse comitatus act of 1878. The same act was invoked in the 1980s to prevent military. As originally enacted in 1878, the posse comitatus act applied only to the u. Military from enforcing local and federal law or assisting local law enforcement in that duty. In addition, the department of the navy has enacted regulations intended to apply the posse comitatus act restrictions to the u. Posse comitatus act of 1878 how is posse comitatus act of.
The exception documents a contrary component of the tradition. Operational law handbook, 2015 the library of congress. This article argues that the posse comitatus act of 1878, designed to limit the deployment of federal military resources in the service of domestic policies, will be difficult to enforce to protect against militarized cyberpolicing and cybersurveillance harms that may generate from the domestic use of military grade cybersurveillance tools. The act was enacted in the year1878, and it is cited in 18 uscs 85. Originally raised and commanded by the sheriff, the posse comitatus became a purely civil instrument as the. Air force in 1956 as posse comitatus, was originally passed in 1878 and prohibited the federal government from using the military in a manner consistent with domestic law enforcement.
Biometric cyberintelligence and the posse comitatus act by. Posse comitatus act and the us military on the border. Most individuals think they know what the posse comitatus act allows and disallows. The posse comitatus act is the united states federal law 18 u. The act explicitly for bade the military from aiding civil officials or usurping their law enforce. In posse comitatus the united states was the posse comitatus act of 1878, which was passed at the end of reconstruction 186577 in order to prevent the use of the u. Army admits troops conducting law enforcement is illegal yet it continues to happen across the country on a routine basis. Accordingly, congress passed the pca in 1878 as a rider to an army appropriations act, limiting the circumstances under which the army could be used as a posse comitatus to execute the laws. Posse comitatus act pdf this appendix provides a broad overview of the posse comitatus act, which restricts the participation of the military in domestic law enforcement activities under. Dec 30, 20 simply stated it defied habeas corpus your constitutional right not to disappear at the hand of government, the posse comitatus act of 1878 preventing the military from having a law enforcement function in the united states, and essentially gutted large portions of the bill of rights especially amendments 4, 5, and 6 with secondary damage.
The posse comitatus act outlaws the willful use of any part of the army or air force to. Next, it will discuss the importance of maintaining the strong, historic distinction between the civilian and military spheres in this country. Controversies posse comitatus act prohibits military from. The clinton administration set up the joint task forcecivil support in october 1999 as a homeland defense command. Posse comitatus legal definition of posse comitatus. Posse comitatus act, and this exemption applies equally to activeduty military and federalized national guard troops.
Posse comitatus act and the united states army army university. The posse comitatus act is a united states federal law signed on june 18, 1878, by president. The repository promotes intellectual output from the school of law, including faculty publications and student led law journals, and makes materials available to the world for scholarship. From and after the passage of this act it shall not be lawful to employ any part of the army of the united states, as a posse comitatus, or otherwise, for the purpose of executing the laws, except in such cases and under such circumstances as such employment of said force may be expressly authorized by the constitution or by act of congress. Congress has also enacted a number of statutes that authorize the use of land and naval forces to execute their objective. Posse comitatus act law and legal definition uslegal, inc. Although some language in department of defense regulations suggests that certain restric tions on the use of military assistance apply outside the land area of the united states. Ahead of that breakdown of society, washington and the powers that control it have deployed troops across america to train for domestic operation and acclimate the public to their presence. Hayes on june 18, 1878, limits the power of the federal government in the use of federal military personnel to enforce u. The posse comitatus act is an act that prohibits the federal government from using the armed forces as a posse comitatus for law enforcement, except in cases and circumstances expressly authorized by the constitution or act of congress.
The purpose of the act in concert with the insurrection act of 1807 is to limit the powers of the federal government in using federal military personnel to enforce domestic policies within the united states. The act outlaws any direct involvement by the united states military in any law enforcement operation. Nov 26, 2014 the posse comitatus act is the united states federal law 18 u. In the united states, a federal statute known as the posse comitatus act, enacted in 1878, forbade the use of the us army, and through it, its offspring, the us air force, as a posse comitatus or for law enforcement purposes without the approval of congress. Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the constitution or act of congress, willfully uses any part of the army or the air force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both. Act made it a crime for anyone to use the army to enforce federal, state, or local civil laws. Why we need to repeal the posse comitatus act ars technica. The posse comitatus act outlaws the willful use of any part of the army or air force to execute the law unless expressly authorized by the constitution or an act of. Posse comitatus act of 1878 long title an act making appropriations for the support of the army for the fiscal year ending june thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventynine, and for other purposes. The posse comitatus act is a united states federal law 18 u.
The term refers to a doctrine of ancient english common law 2 authorizing a sheriff to summon the assistance of the ablebodied male population above the age of 15. Extraterritorial effect of the posse comitatus act the posse comitatus act does not apply outside the territory of the united states. Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the. Jul 05, 2011 military participation posse comitatus the term posse comitatus means the force of the county. Posse comitatus act article about posse comitatus act by. This appendix provides a broad overview of the posse comitatus act, which restricts the participation of the military in domestic law enforcement activities under. From and after the passage of this act it shall not be lawful to employ any part of the army of the united states, as a posse comitatus, or otherwise, for the purpose of executing. The posse comitatus act of 1878 was designed to create a clear division between the military and domestic police forces. Posse comitatus definition of posse comitatus by the free. Marys university school of law in san antonio, texas.
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