By Lisa Rein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Fairfax County last night refused to join a long list of local governments to formally oppose the expanded investigative powers granted to law enforcement agencies under the USA Patriot Act.

The Board of Supervisors, after a soul-searching debate about civil liberties and a local government's right to judge issues of national security, voted instead to send a letter to the county's delegation to Congress expressing concerns about the legislation, which is up for reauthorization this year.

The letter was a compromise between doing nothing and embracing a resolution criticizing the Patriot Act that several supervisors said alarmed them. Supervisor Catherine M. Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill) proposed the measure, which opposed efforts by law enforcement officials to infringe on privacy. Hudgins, urged by civil liberties groups, brought the issue to her colleagues a year ago but was stymied.

"I did not bring this forward lightly then, and I don't now," Hudgins said, referring to provisions of the law enacted by Congress six weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Language "that treads on human and civil rights need to be questioned."

Hundreds of cities, towns and counties across the country -- including Alexandria, Arlington, the District and Montgomery and Prince George's counties -- have approved resolutions condemning provisions of the Patriot Act, which allows investigators to see citizens' library records and eases requirements for search warrants.

When Hudgins first raised the issue, the board asked County Executive Anthony H. Griffin to report on how the Patriot Act has affected Fairfax agencies and residents. Hudgins said last night that she was "shocked" at Griffin's response, which said the legislation has "had little or no effect on county government" except to provide grants to increase security.

But several supervisors said they were not convinced that the law has violated Fairfax residents' rights. "You serve as the conscience of this board," Supervisor T. Dana Kauffman (D-Lee) told Hudgins. "But inherent in this resolution is the assumption that every aspect of the Patriot Act is inherently bad. It's engaging in some kind of hyperbole."

Board Chairman Gerald E. Connolly (D), who suggested the letter, said he was "loath to be judging whether violations [of civil liberties] have occurred in our community." The motion to draft a letter passed 7 to 0, with Hudgins abstaining until, she said, she saw a draft.

In other action, Connolly demanded a full accounting of the death last week of a man who was having trouble breathing and waited 14 minutes for an ambulance in the Alexandria area.

Confusion between Alexandria and Fairfax police over who should respond caused the unusually long wait, officials said. Officials are awaiting the results of an autopsy to determine in part whether a rapid response might have saved him.