"Sneak and Peak" warrants were describe as essential for combating terrorism when the PATRIOT Act was passed after 9/11. What's remarkable is how rarely such warrants are being used against terrorism vs. other cases (usually narcotics ones).
Bottom line: 'Assume that any power you grant to the federal government to fight terrorism will inevitably be used in other contexts.'
Surprise! Controversial Patriot Act power now overwhelmingly used in drug investigations
About one half of one percent of “sneak-and-peek” warrants are used in terrorism investigations.
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Any powers we grant the government will be misused. As such, anything we grant, we better make sure has some sort of oversight and limits.
What a surprise! We are living in a multinational global police state!
+John Bump I not-infrequently quote Lyndon Johnson, a man who knew about law-writing: "You do not examine legislation in the light of the benefits it will convey if properly administered, but in the light of the wrongs it would do and the harms it would cause if improperly administered."