ACLU sues over warrantless border laptop searches

[General Zod]

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news ... mments-bar

An Obama administration policy allowing US border officials to seize and search laptops, smart phones and other electronic devices for any reason was challenged as unconstitutional in federal court Tuesday.

Citing the government's own figures, the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers claim about 6,500 persons had their electronic devices searched along the U.S. border since October 2008. In one instance, according to the lawsuit filed in New York, a computer laptop was seized from a New York man at the Canadian border and not returned for 11 days. The lawsuit seeks no monetary damages, but asks the court to order an end to the searches.

"All we want is that the government has to have some shred of evidence they can point to that may turn up some evidence of wrongdoing," says ACLU attorney Catherine Crump.

The so-called "border exception" to the Fourth Amendment's probable-cause standard sometimes requires the lower standard of "reasonable suspicion" to search a traveler's person or physical property, says Crump. But when it comes to electronic devices, the government's "policy allows a purely suspicionless search of laptops, cell phones and other electronic devices," she says.

The lawsuit comes as laptops, and now smart phones, (.pdf) have become virtual extensions of ourselves, housing everything from e-mail to instant-message chats to our papers and effects.

The government maintains it needs the carte blanche authority to search electronics at the border to keep the United States safe. That's what it told the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which approved the searches in 2008. Tuesday's lawsuit is in the jurisdiction of the New York-based 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals, which is not obliged to follow precedent in other circuits.

The Bush administration first announced the suspicionless laptop search rules in 2008. The Obama administration followed up with virtually the same rules last year.

The government, Crump said, "should at least have some reasonable suspicion" when it comes to searches and seizures of electronic devices at the border.

The case was brought on behalf of 26-year-old Pascal Abidor, whose laptop was seized for 11 days in May as he was traveling by rail from Canada to his parents' New York residence. He is an Islamic studies graduate student in Canada.

At an Amtrak inspection point, he showed his US passport to an agent. He was ordered to move to the café car, where they removed his laptop from his luggage and "ordered Mr. Abidor to enter his password," according to the lawsuit.

Agents asked him about pictures they found on his laptop, which included Hamas and Hezbollah rallies. He explained to the agent that he was earning a doctoral degree in the modern history of Shiites in Lebanon. He was handcuffed and then jailed for three hours while the authorities looked through his computer, according to the suit. Numerous agents questioned him, the suit said.

They released him and kept his laptop for 11 days, before his lawyer complained.

Plaintiffs in the suit also include the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the National Press Photographer's Association. The lawyers group maintains search policy exposes privileged communications. The photographer's association said the policy interferes "with their ability to do their work."

It's about fucking time someone challenged this stupid policy.

[dragon]

edit - nm shouldn't have said that.

[KrauserKrauser]

I find it unsurprising that I heard no mention of this on my random listenings of LimbHanniBeck.

Nope, just droning on about how the ACLU are a box of pinko commie leftists.

[Anguirus]

^ Holy shit, they really are knee-jerkers aren't they? You'd think a small-government conservative wouldn't want the administration (let alone the "OBAMANATION") to have that kind of power.

[aerius]

Good luck getting border security to give up its powers. Even if the lawsuit is successful they'll just declare it's a national security issue and carry on with business as usual.

[Molyneux]

Good show on the ACLU's part, here's wishing them well.

[Uraniun235]

Good luck getting border security to give up its powers. Even if the lawsuit is successful they'll just declare it's a national security issue and carry on with business as usual.

If the lawsuit was successful in showing that the searches are unlawful, wouldn't that then open up the individual agents to being sued?

[Alyeska]

Good luck getting border security to give up its powers. Even if the lawsuit is successful they'll just declare it's a national security issue and carry on with business as usual.

If the lawsuit was successful in showing that the searches are unlawful, wouldn't that then open up the individual agents to being sued?

National Security exemptions are a whole different ballgame. And National Security is one the courts often concede to.

[Mr Bean]

At the end of the day we can always say that the ACLU is perhaps the best friend any American can have. There is only one or two times they launched a lawsuit that I think they've gone to far. Every other time it's been a hell yes thank you ACLU.

[Edi]

Good luck getting border security to give up its powers. Even if the lawsuit is successful they'll just declare it's a national security issue and carry on with business as usual.

If the lawsuit was successful in showing that the searches are unlawful, wouldn't that then open up the individual agents to being sued?

They are not going to give a fuck and the Obama administration just won a major victory in the 9th circuit getting a case tossed out with the argument that state secrets and national security are issues the courts have no jurisdiction over.

Linky

This is linked to the torture of prisoners, so what the hell makes anyone think they are going to give a flying fuck about obeying court rules on border laptop searches? What are you going to do, sue the government? They'll just claim state secrets or national security and railroad your case. If they get a verdict against, they'll ignore it.

This is what the past ten years have conditioned Americans to accept unquestioningly.

[Andrew J.]

What state secrets could possible be invoked that relate to these border searches?

[aerius]

If the lawsuit was successful in showing that the searches are unlawful, wouldn't that then open up the individual agents to being sued?

I don't know, I'm not a lawyer and I don't know much about how the US law system works, hell, I can barely name 3 Amendments on a good day.

What state secrets could possible be invoked that relate to these border searches?

It would compromise proprietary anti-terrorist and security procedures. Allegedly.

[Thanas]

What are you going to do, sue the government? They'll just claim state secrets or national security and railroad your case. If they get a verdict against, they'll ignore it.

This is what the past ten years have conditioned Americans to accept unquestioningly.

It is a good thing that in Europe, several courts have ruled that state secrets or national security is not a valid defence. Apparently, the land of the free thinks otherwise.

God, how I hate that spineless Obama and his authoritarian tendency. Worse than Bush, at least Bush did not pretend to be the rescuer of civil liberties.

[Alyrium Denryle]

What are you going to do, sue the government? They'll just claim state secrets or national security and railroad your case. If they get a verdict against, they'll ignore it.

This is what the past ten years have conditioned Americans to accept unquestioningly.

It is a good thing that in Europe, several courts have ruled that state secrets or national security is not a valid defence. Apparently, the land of the free thinks otherwise.

God, how I hate that spineless Obama and his authoritarian tendency. Worse than Bush, at least Bush did not pretend to be the rescuer of civil liberties.

That is why I am planning on being habilitated, trying for a citizenship-granting professorship in Austria, then renouncing my US citizenship.

[Alyeska]

That is why I am planning on being habilitated, trying for a citizenship-granting professorship in Austria, then renouncing my US citizenship.

Great Barrier Firewall. Are you sure you want to pick Australia? They are doing things even crazier than the United States right now in many regards.

[Mayabird]

Austria, the central European country, not Australia, the island continent full of crazy deadly creatures.
[line 2]

[Alyeska]

Austria, the central European country, not Australia, the island continent full of crazy deadly creatures.
[line 2]

Doh.

[JointStrikeFighter]

That is why I am planning on being habilitated, trying for a citizenship-granting professorship in Austria, then renouncing my US citizenship.

Great Barrier Firewall. Are you sure you want to pick Australia? They are doing things even crazier than the United States right now in many regards.

You have been told many times that it will never fucking happen and if you paid any attention to the Australian political scene instead of spouting off nonsense about how ZOMFG AU JUST AS BAD you would know not only have the plans been shelved but the current political scene with the left wing greens holding the balance of power makes it impossible to even be considered in the next three years.

[Alyeska]

That is why I am planning on being habilitated, trying for a citizenship-granting professorship in Austria, then renouncing my US citizenship.

Great Barrier Firewall. Are you sure you want to pick Australia? They are doing things even crazier than the United States right now in many regards.

You have been told many times that it will never fucking happen and if you paid any attention to the Australian political scene instead of spouting off nonsense about how ZOMFG AU JUST AS BAD you would know not only have the plans been shelved but the current political scene with the left wing greens holding the balance of power makes it impossible to even be considered in the next three years.

Those plans got shelved after it was pushed forward for many years with some rather interesting testing.

And I have been told many times? Really? You seem rather sure that you've done this. I know I've talked about it with Chris O'Farrell many times. Just because its not feasible doesn't stop politicians from trying it. As it stands I am glad it was shelved. That said, it serves an example for an argument that doesn't need to be made since I misread Alyrium's post.

[JointStrikeFighter]

Sorry but politicians wasting time with policies they know to be technically and more importantly politically infeasible doesn't really hurt the nation.

Neither of the major parties would actually support it in any way other than feasibility studies to placate the religious right vote; the left wing labor party will oppose it for ideological reasons and the right wing liberal party would be forced to drop support when the increased latency cost their corporate overlords money.

[Raesene]

What are you going to do, sue the government? They'll just claim state secrets or national security and railroad your case. If they get a verdict against, they'll ignore it.

This is what the past ten years have conditioned Americans to accept unquestioningly.

It is a good thing that in Europe, several courts have ruled that state secrets or national security is not a valid defence. Apparently, the land of the free thinks otherwise.

God, how I hate that spineless Obama and his authoritarian tendency. Worse than Bush, at least Bush did not pretend to be the rescuer of civil liberties.

That is why I am planning on being habilitated, trying for a citizenship-granting professorship in Austria, then renouncing my US citizenship.

Do US universities even grant habilitations ? I thought they are a unique German/Austrian facette of the university organisation. You'd be welcome over here as non-German foreign professors are very rare, although we do have several problems with our police force and within our society ourselves.
Don't expect a lot of funding for your chair though, our universities are kept on a very tight budget.

Is handcuffing a subject a usual procedure in such cases ? Seems a bit overzealous to me.
After each such event I'd admire any nation that reciprocates on the customs conditions like Brazil did several years back.

[Simon_Jester]

I don't think the US has something analogous to habilitation. He's planning to move before getting it. Then get it in Europe.