Posted on 12/02/2005 1:21:13 PM PST by libertarianPA
NEW YORK - A federal judge Friday upheld the police department's practice of randomly searching subway riders' bags, saying the intrusion on people's privacy is minimal while the threat of a terrorist bombing is "real and substantial."
Police tightened security in the nation's largest subway system in July after the deadly terrorist attacks in London's underground.
"The risk of a terrorist bombing of New York City's subway system is real and substantial," U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman said.
The New York Civil Liberties Union had challenged the searches, arguing that riders were being subjected to a pointless and unprecedented invasion of their privacy.
The judge cited the testimony of police officials who said the search policy might cause terrorists to choose a different target.
"Because the threat of terrorism is great and the consequences of unpreparedness may be catastrophic, it would seem foolish not to rely upon those qualified persons in the best position to know," Berman said.
Gail Donoghue, a city lawyer, called the searches a "life-and-death" necessity and said the city should not wait for a specific threat or an attack to crack down.
"That kind of complacency is a very dangerous thing," she said. "The threat is immediate. It is real and of extreme concern to those who run the counterterrorism in this city."
During the trial, Deputy Police Commissioner David Cohen said the searches keep terrorists guessing.
"Unpredictability is the enemy of terrorists and the ally of those trying to prevent an attack," said Cohen, who joined the police department after a three-decade career at the CIA analyzing the threat of terrorism.
Liberals - 0
FU NYCLU
Why the hail would a judge have to approve searches on a folking subway? What kind of expectation of privacy does a person have on a New York folking subway for gads sake?
Why the hail would a judge have to approve searches on a folking sidewalk? What kind of expectation of privacy does a person have on a New York folking sidewalk for gads sake?
yes the threat is real.
SUIciDE bombers are for real.
how the hell is checking my bags or THEIRS going to prevent a device from exploding ?
what next ? stopping us on the streets ?
why no random checks at overcrowded shopping malls and stores ?
....don't know where you're from, but even on the jammed up subways,there is still a degree of privacy/civility---we're not animals.
But I thought we were fighting them over there, and not here.
Yet another blow to our freedoms. The government intrusion into our basic freedoms to move about unharrassed is getting ridiculous.
BoR#4 = TP
Well... that just doesn't make a lick of sense.
Arabe males between the ages of 18 and 30: NOT ALLOWED
Please quote the exact paragraph in the Constitution which granted the Federal government authorization to search anyone?
Neither does searching random people, knowing that those who they're looking for can just walk away if picked for search.
Do we have to spell it out for you? 10 terrorists enter different subway stations simultaniously, 3 of them are randomly selected for search, those 3 just walk away to a crowded area while 7 others get on, and all 10 blow up simultaniously - this makes sense how?
BTW:
BoR#4 = TP
means
Bill of Rights, 4th amendment (search only upon individual cause with warrant) is now Toilet Paper.
Arabe males between the ages of 18 and 30: NOT ALLOWED
More like:
Little old ladies over the age of 70: unlikely to blow up when searched. Arab males between the ages of 18 and 30: more likely to blow up when searched.
Guess who the cops search?
No kidding. Every yenta with a Macy's bag will be thoroughly searched, while Mohammed and Abdul breeze on through security.
The Founders didn't care two cents if a state or city conducted random searches when they wrote the constitution.
It's amazing our schools have convinced people that the 14th Amendment was written by "the founders".
Give me a name. I'm sick of the outright lies that are taught to our helpless children.
No one will ever understand the 14th Amendment if they're taught that the founders wrote the Bill of Rights to restrict the states.
Give me a name.
Actually, I prefer they did some heavy profiling rather than random searching - young middle eastern men or women. But I'll settle for random searching for now.
It's not like the police are going up to random people sitting at a restaurant. We're searching people at known terror targets.
No one ever said that protecting ourselves against terrorists would be convenient. It's also not the most offensive act against humanity. It's nice to stand up for a principle, but to have a fetish about it can get people killed.
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