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| Usual Suspects sue to stop random MBTA bag searches |
| 2004-07-28 |
| EFL A federal judge took under advisement a lawsuit filed by two civil rights groups hoping to stop the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority from inspecting passengers' bags. The National Lawyers Guild and American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee argued that the searches are an unconstitutional violation of personal privacy. They sued to stop all bag searches on buses and trains. But Tuesday's hearing involved only the searches on buses driving the sections of I-93 that are closed during the Democratic National Convention and the Orange line at the Haymarket and Community College stops, before trains pass under the FleetCenter. Michael Avery, president of the National Lawyers Guild, told the court that the searches are ''very intrusive'' and violate the Fourth Amendment, because they don't require information that the person searched is suspected of criminal activity. ''This is not a wand, not a metal detector that people pass through,'' Avery said. ''This is MBTA officers coming on the train and opening bags and personal possessions. The circumstances are very intimidating and involves physical exposure of somebody's personal possessions in their handbag.'' He also complained that passengers who refused to be searched would be asked to leave the bus or train, potentially leaving them stranded in the middle of their journey. Might I suggest a taxi. MBTA lawyer Rudolph Pierce said the agency had to balance passengers' safety and protection of their civil rights. He cited the recent subway terrorist attack in Madrid as evidence that not just airports and courtrooms could be terrorist targets. ''The last thing the MBTA wants to be thought of is as going out of its way interfering with civil liberties,'' Pierce said. ''We've tried to come up with measures that are both moderate and, hopefully, enough to deter anybody from doing something that none of us want to happen.'' |
| Posted by:Super Hose |