By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
New rules giving the police wider authority to investigate suspected terrorist activity may take effect as early as next week after a federal judge gave them final approval.
Judge Charles S. Haight Jr. of United States District Court in Manhattan said in a written order late Thursday that the rules easing restrictions imposed in 1985 would take effect as soon as lawyers indicate there will be no appeal of his rulings.
Jethro Eisenstein, a lawyer for the original plaintiffs, said yesterday that an appeal was unlikely.
“I think it’s a very good outcome,” he said. “I think that the police came into this wanting a complete free hand and no rules in this area and Judge Haight said, `That’s not going to happen on my watch.’ ”
After the terrorist attacks, the New York Police Department had asked the decree to be thoroughly revised. Judge Haight said in February that he would allow strengthened police powers because the nature of public peril had changed, permitting a rewriting of a 1985 consent decree that established the Handschu Guidelines governing police investigations of political activity.
The changes allow law enforcement agencies to exchange information more freely and no longer require police to file investigation statements with the Handschu Authority. To ensure that constitutional rights are respected, the police will follow a 22-page set of FBI guidelines issued last year.