The folks at “Freedom to Travel USA” have filed an amicus brief in the case Refern, et al. v. Napolitano. This lawsuit challenges the TSA’s groping and carcinogenic porno-scanners on the grounds that the Fourth Amendment prohibits such unreasonable searches.
I love a lost cause as well as the next gal, yet this particular one was not only lost but buried under a Progressive avalanche about a century ago. Here’s why: “the TSA claims ‘administrative search authority’ to conduct … checkpoint searches of passengers and baggage … without probable cause, according to TSA spokeswoman Kimberley Thompson. ‘… the administrative search does not require probable cause, but must further an important government need, such as preventing would-be terrorists from bringing an explosive device onto a crowded commuter train,’ Thompson said.”
Adminstrative law trumps the Constitution, according to modern American jurisprudence (as I explain here). And of course the judiciary exists to further Leviathan’s power, not curtail so despotic and successful a crew of bullies, thieves and sexual deviants as the TSA. Ergo, I am not optimistic about this case, however enthusiastically I applaud the heroes at Freedom to Travel.
But I could be – and hope I am – wrong. If you’d like to descend on Boston (specifically, the U.S. Courthouse at 1 Courthouse Way) and support this fine effort to break the TSA’s power, mark your calendar for April 3 and sign up for Freedom to Travel’s updates. Jeff Pierce there has kindly offered to keep me posted on the case’s progress, so you can watch LRC’s blog for the latest news as well.
Update: the hearing on April 3 will begin at 10 AM.
11:20 am on March 6, 2013
