[wordup] John Gilmore sues Ashcroft

[Adam Shand]

Go go gadget Gilmore!!

Via: http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/07/18/1951245
From: http://cryptome.org/freetotravel.htm

18 July 2002

Gilmore v. Ashcroft -- FAA ID Challenge
Contents

Date Document URL
18 July 2002 Announcement
18 July 2002 Complaint http://cryptome.org/gilmore-v-usa-cid.htm
18 July 2002 FAQ http://cryptome.org/gilmore-v-usa-faq.htm

July 18, 2002
AIR TRAVELER ID REQUIREMENT CHALLENGED
Secret rule demanding 'Your Papers Please' claimed unconstitutional

San Francisco - Civil libertarian John Gilmore today challenged as
unconstitutional a secret federal rule that requires domestic US
travelers to identify themselves.

"United States courts have recognized for more than a century that
honest citizens have the right to travel throughout America without
government restrictions.  Some people say that everything changed on
9/11, but patriots have stood by our Constitution through centuries of
conflict and uncertainty.  Any government that tracks its citizens'
movements and associations, or restricts their travel using secret
decrees, is violating that Constitution," said Gilmore.  "With this
case, I hope to redirect government anti-terrorism efforts away from
intrusive yet useless measures such as ID checks, confiscation of
tweezers, and database surveillance of every traveler's life."

At issue is a series of secret security directives issued by the Federal
Aviation Administration and/or the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA), in consultation with the Department of Justice and
the Office of Homeland Security.  The directives appear to require US
airlines to demand identification before allowing customers to travel. 
Because the directives are secret, no citizen actually knows what they
require.

On July 4, Southwest Airlines staff prevented Gilmore from boarding a
pre-paid flight from Oakland to Washington, D.C, where he intended to
petition the government to alter the ID check.  He then went to San
Francisco International Airport and tried to purchase a similar ticket
on United Airlines.  Both airlines, though unable to identify any actual
regulation requiring him to identify himself, prevented him from
flying.  United stated that they were following an unwritten regulation
that had only been communicated to them orally, and which changes
frequently.

"History shows many abuses when government agents can demand 'your
papers, please!'" said Bill Simpich, an Oakland civil rights lawyer, and
lead attorney in Gilmore's suit.  "TSA plans to deploy 'CAPPS II' later
this year.  This will use your ID to search in a stew of databases like
credit records, previous travel history, criminal records, motor vehicle
records, banks, web searches, and companies that collect personal
information from consumer transactions.  Your life history will be
gathered and scanned, using secret criteria, whenever you book a flight
or arrive at an airport.  If the machine decides you're a risk, the
airline will not let you fly, and federal cops will show up to
interrogate you.  They will probably tell you that you were 'randomly'
selected for all this attention, but they will be lying."

Gilmore v. Ashcroft, filed today in Federal Court for the Northern
District of California, challenges every secret regulation that demands
identification from innocent citizens, or restricts their domestic
travel.  Such regulations are unconstitutional because they are
unpublished; require government agents to search and seize citizens who
are not suspected of crimes; burden the rights to travel, associate, and
petition the government; and discriminate against those who choose
anonymity.  The case also argues that because the regulations are
secret, they violate the Freedom of Information Act.

Mr. Gilmore is a businessman, civil libertarian, and philanthropist. He
was the fifth employee of Sun Microsystems, an early author of open
source software, and co-creator of the Electronic Frontier Foundation,
the Cypherpunks, the DES Cracker, and the Internet's "alt" newsgroups.
He serves as a director on several for-profit and nonprofit boards.

The legal complaint, FAQ, and other case documents can be found at:
http://cryptome.org/freetotravel.htm

Contacts:

John Gilmore - plaintiff
+1 415 221 6524

William Simpich - lead counsel
+1 510 444 0226

David Greene - First Amendment Project.   Contact FAP for comments on
the burdening of the right to petition the government.
+1 510 208 7744

Linda Ackerman - Privacyactivism.org.  Contact for CAPPS I and II
profiling issues.
+1 415 215 9351

-end-