Washington ? The Justice Department moved swiftly Monday to take advantage of a court ruling broadening its ability to track suspected terrorists and spies using wiretaps and other surveillance techniques.

Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft said the ruling by a specially appointed three-judge review panel would give the Justice Department expanded surveillance powers under the USA Patriot Act, passed by Congress after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

It was the first time the appeals panel had overturned a ruling by the ultra-secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which had sought to impose restrictions on how and when surveillance authority could be used to track foreign agents.

A key part of the ruling removes legal barriers between FBI and Justice Department intelligence investigators and prosecutors and law enforcement personnel.

The ruling, Ashcroft told reporters, “revolutionizes our ability to investigate terrorists and prosecute terrorist acts.”

But the American Civil Liberties Union and several other groups contend the ruling will harm free speech and due process protections by giving the government far greater ability to listen to telephone conversations, read e-mail and search private property.

“We are deeply disappointed with the decision, which suggests that this special court exists only to rubber-stamp government applications for intrusive surveillance warrants,” said Ann Beeson, who argued the case for the ACLU.

Ashcroft announced a number of immediate steps, including development of a computer system to help investigators get quick court approval for surveillance; doubling of the number of FBI attorneys working with surveillance applications; and designation of one lawyer in each U.S. attorney’s office as the local point person for these cases.

FBI Director Robert Mueller also created a new unit to handle cases brought under the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which was amended by last year’s anti-terrorism Patriot Act to boost surveillance powers. The upshot, Ashcroft said, is improved coordination and cooperation between federal agencies, which have drawn heavy criticism for failing to detect and stop terrorists within the United States.

The review panel’s opinion overturned a May decision by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on Ashcroft’s proposed surveillance guidelines under the Patriot Act.

An appeal to the Supreme Court was unlikely, at least any time soon. The Justice Department is the sole party to the case, and as the winner had no plans to appeal, officials said. The ACLU and others would have to find another option, such as a criminal case involving intelligence surveillance, to ask the high court for a hearing.