Post by WaTcHeR on Dec 13, 2005 12:22:52 GMT -5
This case needs to be really watched! This will determine how "our government" views the privacy of American citizens.
If it wasn't for this millionaire having the money and too damn much time on his hands to sue the U.S. Government, this case would have never made it this far!
Thank you sir.
SAN FRANCISCO - An entrepreneur who hasn't flown since 2002 went before a federal appeals court Thursday to challenge the rule that has kept him close to home - the requirement that airline passengers must show identification.
An attorney representing John Gilmore of San Francisco, a founder of Sun Microsystems Inc. and the privacy organization Electronic Frontier Foundation, argued that the federal government and the airlines should be looking for guns and bombs, not IDs.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges seemed skeptical of Gilmore's quest for anonymity in the air. They referred repeatedly to a 1984 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said no privacy violation occurs as long as a person who refuses to produce ID is free to turn around and leave.
But the circuit judges also appeared skeptical of an argument by the government, which has attempted to cloak the case in secrecy. Government attorneys have refused to disclose in open court the official security directive behind the ID requirement. The court has refused to accept the directive under seal.
At the hearing Senior Judge Stephen Trott of Boise questioned a Justice Department attorney about the government's "cat and mouse" games.
"We're bound by (secrecy) regulations," Joshua Waldman, the government attorney, replied.
Gilmore's attorney, James Harrison, argued that the government must disclose the directive because "this is America," where rules must be written and clear.
The government's secrecy has drawn attention to the case from a broad range of media and other groups. The Bee's parent, The McClatchy Co., was among the organizations signing a friend-of-the-court brief when the government last year asked to file its appellate brief under seal for a closed-door, judges-only review. The court declined that request.
So far, the Transportation Security Administration has confirmed only that an ID requirement exists - that "as part of its security rules, TSA requires airlines to ask passengers for identification at check-in."
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ruled against Gilmore in 2004 without seeing the official directive. Gilmore wants the appeals court to return the case to her with an order to review and rule on the policy.
Outside court Gilmore said he doesn't drive because he's had epilepsy, and he doesn't ride Amtrak, which also requires passengers to show IDs.
He traveled only as a passenger in other people's cars, he said, until he learned recently that Greyhound had stopped requiring IDs. He took a bus to Oregon for Thanksgiving.
"It felt like a breath of freedom," he said.
He is his site:
www.toad.com/gnu/
If it wasn't for this millionaire having the money and too damn much time on his hands to sue the U.S. Government, this case would have never made it this far!
Thank you sir.
SAN FRANCISCO - An entrepreneur who hasn't flown since 2002 went before a federal appeals court Thursday to challenge the rule that has kept him close to home - the requirement that airline passengers must show identification.
An attorney representing John Gilmore of San Francisco, a founder of Sun Microsystems Inc. and the privacy organization Electronic Frontier Foundation, argued that the federal government and the airlines should be looking for guns and bombs, not IDs.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges seemed skeptical of Gilmore's quest for anonymity in the air. They referred repeatedly to a 1984 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said no privacy violation occurs as long as a person who refuses to produce ID is free to turn around and leave.
But the circuit judges also appeared skeptical of an argument by the government, which has attempted to cloak the case in secrecy. Government attorneys have refused to disclose in open court the official security directive behind the ID requirement. The court has refused to accept the directive under seal.
At the hearing Senior Judge Stephen Trott of Boise questioned a Justice Department attorney about the government's "cat and mouse" games.
"We're bound by (secrecy) regulations," Joshua Waldman, the government attorney, replied.
Gilmore's attorney, James Harrison, argued that the government must disclose the directive because "this is America," where rules must be written and clear.
The government's secrecy has drawn attention to the case from a broad range of media and other groups. The Bee's parent, The McClatchy Co., was among the organizations signing a friend-of-the-court brief when the government last year asked to file its appellate brief under seal for a closed-door, judges-only review. The court declined that request.
So far, the Transportation Security Administration has confirmed only that an ID requirement exists - that "as part of its security rules, TSA requires airlines to ask passengers for identification at check-in."
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ruled against Gilmore in 2004 without seeing the official directive. Gilmore wants the appeals court to return the case to her with an order to review and rule on the policy.
Outside court Gilmore said he doesn't drive because he's had epilepsy, and he doesn't ride Amtrak, which also requires passengers to show IDs.
He traveled only as a passenger in other people's cars, he said, until he learned recently that Greyhound had stopped requiring IDs. He took a bus to Oregon for Thanksgiving.
"It felt like a breath of freedom," he said.
He is his site:
www.toad.com/gnu/
