Employment of Military Resources in the Event of Civil Disturbances (nonfiction)
"Employment of Military Resources in the Event of Civil Disturbances" (the "Packard Memo") is the title of a memorandum written by electrical engineer and businessman David Packard near the end of his term as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense.
Enacted in February 1972, the act describes exceptions to the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, which limited the powers of the federal government to use the U.S. military for law enforcement, except where expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress — noting that the Constitution provides an exception when needed "to prevent loss of life or wanton destruction of property and to restore governmental functioning and public order when sudden and unexpected civil disturbances, disasters, or calamities seriously endanger life and property and disrupt normal governmental functions to such an extent that duly constituted local authorities are unable to control the situations" and "to protect Federal property and Federal governmental functions when the need for protection exists and duly constituted local authorities are unable or decline to provide adequate protection". § 214.5 states that "employment of DoD military resources for assistance to civil authorities in controlling civil disturbances will normally be predicated upon the issuance of a Presidential Executive order or Presidential directive authorizing", with exceptions "limited to:
- Cases of sudden and unexpected emergencies as described in §215.4(c)(1)(i), which require that immediate military action be taken.
- Providing military resources to civil authorities as prescribed in §215.9 of this part."
According to Lindorff, these exceptions reinstate the possibility of martial law in the U.S., prohibited since 1878.
In the News
Fiction cross-reference
Nonfiction cross-reference
- David Packard (nonfiction)
- Posse Comitatus Act (nonfiction) - a United States federal law (18 U.S.C. § 1385, original at 20 Stat. 152) signed on June 18, 1878, by President Rutherford B. Hayes. The purpose of the act – in concert with the Insurrection Act of 1807 – is to limit the powers of the federal government in using federal military personnel to enforce domestic policies within the United States. It was passed as an amendment to an army appropriation bill following the end of Reconstruction and was updated in 1956 and 1981.
External links
- David Packard @ Wikipedia