Finally, the Patriot Act will face court challenges. Last week we wrote about the ACLU lawsuit over Section 215 that allows the government broader access to business records. Today, a lawsuit was filed over another aspect of the law.

The Center for Constitutional Rights, based in New York, argues that the Patriot Act infringes on free-speech protections by outlawing "expert advice and assistance" to groups that the United States has labeled terrorist organizations, even if the assistance is humanitarian in nature and has no connection to terrorism.

The latest case involves American activists and aid workers with ties to Turkey's Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, both of which have been declared terrorist groups by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell.

The plaintiffs argue that whatever links they might have with the groups are innocent and protected by the First Amendment, a view that has been supported by previous federal court rulings focused on other statutes.