Who's watching the watchers?: Landmark case over "No-Fly" database

[marmar]

Watching the Watch List: Landmark Case Goes to Trial over Massive U.S. Terrorism "No-Fly" Database
Published on Dec 2, 2013

http://www.democracynow.org - With hundreds of thousands of people now on the government's terrorist watch lists, a closely watched trial begins today in San Francisco. Stanford University Ph.D student Rahinah Ibrahim is suing the U.S. government after she was barred from flying from Malaysia back to the United States in 2005 to complete her studies at Stanford after her name was placed on the list. The New York Times reports that the federal government's terrorist watch list, officially called the "Terrorist Screening Database," has grown to at least 700,000 people and those on the list are often subjected to extra scrutiny, prohibited from flying, and interrogated while attempting to cross borders. The government refuses to divulge who is on the list, how one can get off the list, and what criteria is used to place someone on the list in the first place. Often times, people have no idea their name's in the database until they attempt to board a flight. We speak with Anya Bernstein, associate professor at the SUNY Buffalo Law School and author of the article, "The Hidden Costs of Terrorist Watch Lists."

[countryjake]

1. Kick & Recommend!

ANYA BERNSTEIN: In terms of Ibrahim, I think it’s huge. I mean, this is a very hopeful sign, especially since it has gone up to the 9th Circuit twice already. So, there have been plenty of chances to knock this case out and basically prevent it from going forward, but I think that the courts are sensing that these lists are getting a little out of control. There is no internal mechanism. It doesn’t seem like the agencies are eager to construct some sort of internal mechanism to assess how they’re doing to limit the bloating. And I think the courts feel like maybe now it’s time for the judiciary to step in. So I think that’s a really hopeful sign. And the fact that they’re recognizing that—the Supreme Court has already recognized that travel is a constitutional right, but they’re now—these courts are now recognizing that travel by airplane specifically is a constitutional right, mostly just because of the technological possibilities of today, that that is how most people travel.

http://www.democracynow.org/2013/12/2/watching_the_watch_list_landmark_case