Tuesday, June 24, 2014

No-fly list unconstitutional

This is good news, at least as long as it lasts. I expect it to be reversed or ignored. How cynical is that? [Link]
The U.S. government offers no adequate method for people to challenge their placement on its no-fly list, a federal judge ruled Tuesday in a case involving 13 Muslims who believe they're on the list.
U.S. District Court Judge Anna Brown found people lack a meaningful way to challenge their placement on the list, which bars them from flying to or within the United States. She also said the 13 people who sued the government have been unconstitutionally deprived of their right to fly.
"This should serve as wakeup call to the government," said American Civil Liberties Union attorney Hina Shamsi. "This decision also benefits other people wrongly stuck on the no-fly list because it affords them (an opportunity to challenge) a Kafkaesque bureaucracy."
U.S. Justice Department spokeswoman Dena Iverson said government attorneys were reviewing the decision.
Thirteen people — including four military veterans — challenged their placement on the list in 2010.
Initially, Brown said she couldn't rule on the case. In 2012, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed and sent the case back to her. Brown ruled in August that the 13 people challenging their presence on the list had a constitutional right to travel and, on Tuesday, found the government violated that right.

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