District Court dismisses complaint in Mocek v. Albuquerque
Judge James O. Browning of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico has dismissed Phillip Mocek’s complaints against the city of Albuquerque, the Albuquerque Police Department, and the individual Albuquerque police officers who falsely arrested him (at the behest of the TSA) in 2009 at a TSA checkpoint at the Albuquerque Sunport, improperly seized and tried to delete his digital recordings that provided the best evidence of their misconduct, and filed false reports about what had happened.
Mr. Mocek had arrived at the airport with a valid ticket but without any government-issued ID credentials. He was trying to exercise his right to travel through a public facility and by common carrier, and to document the process of flying without showing government-issued ID credentials. (More about Mocek v. Albuquerque et al.)
Mr. Mocek has until April 29, 2014, to decide whether to appeal any or all of the District Court’s rulings to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit.
We’ll have more to say about the District Court’s latest decision once Mr. Mocek decides whether to appeal.
A notice of appeal of the District Court’s decisions dismissing the complaints against the various defendants has been filed with the Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. The schedule for briefing and argument of the appeal will be determined once preparation of the District Court record is completed.
Mr. Mocek continues to be represented by the same legal team on appeal as in the District Court.