A federal judge yesterday ruled a major provision of the USA Patriot Act is unconstitutional. Anthony Romero of the American Civil Liberties Union said the decision is a QUOTE “stunning victory against the John Ashcroft Justice Department.” The New York-based federal judge, Victor Marrero, ruled against a provision that allowed the government to secretly obtain Internet and other electronic records from private communication firms without a court order. The judge ruled the provision violated both free speech guarantees and protection against unreasonable searches. In its suit, the ACLU argued that the law gave the FBI unchecked power to obtain private information and gave the recipient no opportunity to challenge the requests. Yesterday’s ruling marks only the second time in the past three years that a federal court has rejected portions of the Patriot Act. More than 350 cities and counties have now passed resolutions condemning the Patriot Act.