J.A. Terranson, measl@mfn.org, or some impostor wrote:
This is TOTALLY and example of out-of-control police authority. Courts are open 24 jours a day for the purposes of abtaining warrants, or for other emergencies - in EVERY court in the United States. Doubt it? Go to any courthouse where there is a real judge (not a local "magistrate" or equiv), and ask for a copy of the "Local Rules of Court".
Hear, hear! That's particularly true for Feds pursuing terrorists - there are enough Federal judges, either regular or FISA Star Chamber types, that any cop who's doing something other than hot pursuit can get a warrant any time they need to - and if Congress doesn't think this is the case, the solution is not to drop the Constitution, it's to hire some extra judges to work nights, and give them an internet connection to keep busy on slow nights. What's much harder to do in real time is give the judge enough real evidence for more than a rubber-stamp review. Even that's better than nothing, because it keeps the cops maintaining some pretense of respect for law and creates accounting records of the warrants, but it's likely to be pretty shoddy.