Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Patriot Act Architect Returns to Law Center

Georgetown University Law professor Viet Dinh, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy and chief architect of the USA Patriot Act, submitted his resignation to the White House Wednesday, administration officials told the Los Angeles Times. Dinh plans to resume a full teaching schedule at the Law Center.

The USA Patriot Act, signed into law in November 2001, and allows for easier accumulation and sharing of intelligence information and records for individuals suspected of links to terrorism. The act has garnered criticism from some who maintain the act is a threat to individual rights.

Dinh, 35, who was sworn in as Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy in 2001, will end his service in the Justice Department on May 31. Before entering the public service sector, Dinh served as Deputy Director of Asian Law and Policy Studies at the Law Center.

Both Georgetown and the University of California, Berkeley allow faculty members to leave teaching to accept public service positions, provided that they return within about two years.

In addition to his work on the Patriot Act, Dinh also helped develop policy on an array of topics, including Internet pornography and gun control.

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