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Federal judge rules US no-fly list violates Constitution
 [Iran Press TV] A federal judge in Oregon ruled Tuesday that the Justice Department and FBI deprived 13 people of their constitutional right to due process by failing to disclose if and why they were included on the US No-Fly List.
Interesting decision and likely correct on constitutional grounds. The government maintains a list of American citizens barred from a lawful activity -- flying on an airplane -- for "national security" reasons. There's no way for a citizen to appeal being on that list, to know if she/he is on the list before it is applied at the airport gate, and (apparently, from what we've read before here on the Burg) to fix all the many, many mistakes in that list. That the list has those mistakes and is being handled by the most cynical, politicized, and corrupt administration in our republic's history doesn't help.
We have a right to national security. But part of that is that our citizens have their rights, and government has to exercise due process in limiting those rights. If the judge's ruling stands on due process, it's likely (IMHO) upheld on appeal. |
US District Court Judge Anna Brown ruled that the FBI Terrorist Screening Center, which maintains the database, gives no adequate remedy for the 13 individuals to contest their inclusion on the list.
"Without proper notice and an opportunity to be heard, an individual could be doomed to indefinite placement on the No-Fly List," Brown wrote in her opinion. "Moreover, there is nothing in the ... administrative or judicial review procedures that remedies this fundamental deficiency."
Posted by: Fred 2014-06-25 |
