Judge OKs bag searches on NYC subway

[align=left]giving up the 4th amendment won't keep anyone safe...you can give up all of your rights, and you won't be safe from al-cia-da, or the bilderberg agenda, or the federal reserve agenda, or the CFR agenda...or any other world government agenda...[/align]
[align=left] [/align]
[align=left]Comment: If a suicide bomber who is willing to blow up himself and countless innocent people is asked to open up his bag is he going to stand there calmly, let them do it, then patiently wait as they call the police? Of course not. These searches are aimed at creating more fear and subservience to authority from innocent people.[/align]


[align=left]Judge OKs bag searches on NYC subway[/align]
[align=left]Reuters/Jonathan Stempel | December 3 2005[/align]


[align=left]NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge ruled on Friday that police had a constitutional right to randomly search passengers' bags on the New York City subway to deter terrorist attacks.[/align]


U.S. District Judge Richard Berman ruled the searches were an effective and appropriate means to fight terrorism, and constituted only a "minimal intrusion" of privacy.

"The risk to public safety of a terrorist bombing of New York City's subway system is substantial and real," Berman wrote in his opinion.

"The need for implementing counter-terrorism measures is indisputable, pressing, ongoing and evolving."

Random bag searches began on July 22 after a second set of bomb attacks on London's transit system.

In a statement, Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised the ruling, calling bag searches a "reasonable precaution" that police would continue to take.

The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), which had sued to stop the searches, plans to appeal, Executive Director Donna Lieberman said in a statement. She said the "unprecedented" bag search program violated a basic freedom.

More than 4 million people a day ride the 101-year-old subway system, the nation's largest.

The NYCLU had sued the city and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly in early August, calling the policy of searching thousands of passengers a day without any suspicion of wrongdoing unconstitutional.

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits searches without probable cause.

Police had argued random searches were a crucial deterrent to a possible attack.

The frequency of searches increased in October after Bloomberg said the FBI alerted him to a specific threat to the subway system. Searches were later reduced after the federal warning passed without incident.

New York City is the premier financial market of the world. If the random bag searches caused a large percentage of commuters to arrive at work late it wouldn't be worthwhile. I carry a knapsack to and from work every day, and have never been stopped for a bag check in the subway system yet - and it's been a while since they began this program. I don't even think that I know anybody that has been stopped. The police just set up a table in the station with a sign announcing that bags are subject to random checks.

The cops on this detail are just standing around most of the time, and once in a while ask somebody to open their bag. Some people go over and do it voluntarily, to help them. I don't know if they have a "quota", but if they do - it's apparently not a lot. As I said, the City does not want to hurt business or alienate everybody.

NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg is a former businessman who had enough money to do whatever he wanted, so he ran for mayor. Ray Kelly is in charge of the PD, and and there is nobody above Bloomberg that can force, blackmail, or bribe him to take draconian measures against the people of the city that he loves.

The crime in NYC, from the late 1960's through the late 80's, was very bad. Things began improving in the early 90's, and right now we're the safest of the largest cities in the U.S. We are willing to sacrifice a little personal privacy for security. We've been hit before, and we arenâ??t going to take it anymore. If you're going to tell me that the jihad nuts and large-scale bombers that have been active in Europe, the Middle East, and many other places are not interested in New York because there hasn't been another terrorist attack since 9/11, I would say it's only because our policies have been, for the MOST part, working. If they were not I, and many others, would move away quickly - and so would many businesses. That is exactly the opposite of what Pataki, Bloomberg, Clinton, Schumer, etc. want.

Comment: If a suicide bomber who is willing to blow up himself and countless innocent people is asked to open up his bag is he going to stand there calmly, let them do it, then patiently wait as they call the police? Of course not. These searches are aimed at creating more fear and subservience to authority from innocent people.

apparently some posters do not understand you, seems pretty clear to me, it will not do a damn bit of good to search bags.
the only thing it does is give the bullies with badges the right to defile and invade your privacy.
again the statement from Ben Franklin rings so true.
"those willing to give up freedom for safety, deserve neither"
these non-existent terrorist are going to get you, they are willing to die for their cause, where as you are only willing to give up your freedoms.