Posse Comitatus Act
From Citizendium, the Citizens' Compendium
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Posse Comitatus Act: U.S. law, enacted in 1878 during Reconstruction, which forbids the use of U.S. Army forces for civilian law enforcement; it does not prohibit their use in disaster relief defined by the Stafford Act, or in situations of martial law; the greatest controversies surround the role of military forces in dealing with terrorism on U.S. soil
