View source for Posse Comitatus Act/Definition

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