Edward Hasbrouck – Page 37

Mar 20 2015

Amtrak lies about police use of passenger data

[Passenger Name Record (PNR) view from Amtrak “Police GUI”. Click image for larger version.]

The first “interim” release of documents responsive to our FOIA request for records of police and other government access to Amtrak reservation data show that Amtrak is not only giving police root access and a dedicated user interface to mine passenger data for general state and local law enforcement purposes, but also lying to passengers about this, misleading Amtrak’s own IT and planning staff about the legal basis for these actions, and violating Canadian if not necessarily US law.

Our FOIA request was prompted by Amtrak’s obviously incomplete response to an earlier FOIA request from the ACLU. That response omitted any mention of government access to Amtrak reservation data, even though we’ve seen records of Amtrak travel in DHS files about individual citizens obtained in response to previous Privacy Act and FOIA requests. The documents we have just received were clearly responsive to the ACLU’s request, and should have been, but weren’t, included in Amtrak’s response to that request.

Amtrak is still working on our request, but has begun providing us with responsive records as it completes “processing” of them: search, retrieval, and redaction. (Amtrak is even further behind in responding to some other FOIA requests, such as this one for certain disciplinary records related to misconduct by Amtrak Police.)

The first “interim” release to us by Amtrak includes just a few documents: a 2004 letter from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to the Amtrak Police legal department, requesting “voluntary” provision by Amtrak to CBP of Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS) identification data about all passengers on international Amtrak trains, and a 2004-2005 project summary and scoping document for the work that would be required by Amtrak’s IT department to automate the collection, maintenance in Amtrak’s “ARROW” passenger reservation database, and delivery to CBP of this data.

Mar 18 2015

Appeals court hears argument on appeal by “Freedom Flyer” Phil Mocek

A three-judge panel of the 10th Circuit US Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in Denver yesterday on the lawsuit brought by “Freedom Flyer” Phil Mocek against the TSA checkpoint staff and Albuquerque police responsible for falsely arresting him and trying to delete his audio and video recordings in retaliation for his trying to exercise his Constitutional rights to travel by air without carrying government-issued ID documents, and to film and record the TSA’s “ID verification” process for flyers without ID.

Mr. Mocek was able to recover his audio and video recording after the police returned his camera when they let him out of jail. On the basis of that recording, Mr. Mocek was acquitted by an Albuquerque jury of all of the trumped-up criminal charges.

After his acquittal, Mr. Mocek filed a Federal civil rights lawsuit against the TSA, the Albuquerque police department, and the individual TSA employees and ABQ airport police responsible for violating his rights.

Mr. Mocek’s lawsuit was dismissed, before it could go to trial, by US District Court Judge James Browning in Albuquerque, who ruled that Mr. Mocek had “failed to state a claim on which relief could be granted.”

The issue in rulings like this is not whether the plaintiff (Mr. Mocek) has proven his case, or what the judge believes actually happened. Those are issues for a jury to decide, after hearing the evidence presented in a trial. A motion to dismiss can be granted only if — even assuming that everything the plaintiff says in the complaint can be proven to be true — those facts would not be sufficient to constitute a basis for a finding that the plaintiff’s legal rights have been violated.

That’s what is now being considered by three judges of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals (Presiding Judge Timothy Tymkovich and Judges Neil Gorsuch and Jerome Holmes), and that was argued before them on Tuesday morning in Denver by lawyers representing Mr. Mocek, the TSA and its employees, and the city of Albuquerque (on behalf of the Albuquerque police department, its airport division, and its employees).

[Official audio recording by the court in downlaodable podcast and streaming formats.]

Clearly there are problems with the Albuquerque Police Department which might call for oversight or corrective action by the Federal courts. Five cases, all of them appeals from decisions of the US District Court for New Mexico, were argued on Tuesday before the 10th Circuit panel that heard argument in Mocek v. Albuquerque et al. Of those five cases, three were lawsuits against the Albuquerque police, under the same Federal civil rights statute as in Mr. Mocek’s case, for a variety of violations of individuals’ Constitutional rights by the police department and its officers.

In many respects, all of these appeals concerned the limits of legal liability, and the corresponding limits of impunity, for actions by government agencies and agents that violate individuals’ rights.

Mar 16 2015

“Naked American Hero” goes to court

John Brennan, the “Naked American Hero” who took off all his clothes at a TSA checkpoint at the Portland, Oregon airport, will finally have his day in a Federal court more than three years later.

Mr. Brennan was (falsely) arrested by Portland city police, acting at the behest of the TSA checkpoint staff, on April 17, 2012. He was acquitted of criminal charges by a local judge, since nudity as a form of political expression has been held to be protected by Oregon’s state constitution.

But the TSA assessed a $500 administrative fine against Mr. Brennan for “interfering with screening”, notwithstanding both the Oregon court’s finding that his action was form of protected political expression and the fact that he never interfered with anyone at the TSA checkpoint. It was the TSA staff who chose not to search Mr. Brennan’s clothes after he took them off, not to complete his “screening” once they could see that he wasn’t carrying any weapons or explosives, and to shut down the entire checkpoint.

The TSA’s administrative decision to fine Mr. Brennan followed a kangaroo-court administrative hearing (held in a courtroom rented for the day from the US Bankruptcy Court), a decision by a so-called Administrative Law Judge (not actually a judge, but a DHS staff person rented from the US Coast Guard), and an administrative appeal to a TSA decision-maker designated by the head of the agency.

Throughout these administrative proceedings, the TSA and other DHS staff were forbidden to consider the Constitutionality or validity of the TSA’s regulations or actions. Only after jumping through three years of these hoops is Mr. Brennan entitled to have a real judge of a real court assess whether the TSA acted lawfully or had any authority to impose a fine for actions such as Mr. Brennan’s.

In an effort to frustrate even this belated judicial review, Congress requires that it be conducted by a Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, based on “deference” to the TSA and the TSA-supplied “administrative record” rather than an actual trial or any fact-finding by the Court of Appeals. (Our Freedom of Information Act request for the administrative record of the TSA’s proceedings with respect to Mr. Brennan is still pending and unanswered after almost two years.) But the Court of Appeals can now finally, at this stage, consider Constitutional and other objections to the legality of the TSA’s actions.

On November 14, 2014, Mr. Brennan filed a petition with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for that court to review the TSA’s order assessing a $500 fine against Mr. Brennan. The case in the 9th Circuit is John Brennan v. US DHS and TSA, docket number 14-73502. Mr. Brennan is represented in the 9th Circuit by Michael Rose of Portland, the same attorney who successfully defended Mr. Brennan against the state and local criminal charges.

On March 2, 2015, Mr. Brennan’s attorney filed his brief asking the Court of Appeals to void the TSA fine, making the arguments he wasn’t allowed to make in the TSA administrative proceedings regarding the unconstitutional vagueness and other defects in the TSA’s regulations and actions. Mr. Brennan’s brief was accompanied by excerpts from the TSA administrative record, although most of that record continues to be improperly withheld from disclosure by the TSA despite our FOIA request.

Following a written response from the DHS and TSA (the government has already asked for, and been granted, an extension of time), and a written reply from Mr. Brennan, the 9th Circuit will decide whether to schedule oral argument or make a decision solely on the basis of the written arguments.

Mr. Brennan is continuing to pay for his own legal representation. There’s more information here about how you can contribute to his legal defense and help spread the word about his case.

Mar 09 2015

US government veterans call for curbs on surveillance

Citing our research and analysis on NSA surveillance of travelers as part of the basis for their recommendations, an organization of veterans of US intelligence agencies has called for curbs on mass surveillance of innocent individuals, in order to “preserve privacy and increase security”.

These recommendations to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) are the latest in a series of statements issued by the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS), a group which includes prominent NSA, CIA, State Department, FBI, and other whistleblowers. (More from former FBI agent Coleen Rowley, one of the members of VIPS and a signatory of the statement.)

Thel letter from VIPS to the PCLOB is worth reading in full, but we found these portions among the most trenchant:

The Fear Factor

If Americans want to actively protest U.S. Government policies, but are aware that their communications are being monitored, some individuals will be fearful, inclined toward self-censorship and less likely to speak out – with the chilling effect of being denied their First Amendment rights to free speech and association.

With the Government’s surveillance resources devoted to electronic communications, facial image capture, retina scans, GPS and E-ZPass tracking, license plate readers, banking transactions, and air travel reservations, those with access to the data will be free to develop their own “threat” profiles to target people with tragic consequences for citizens’ freedom of speech, press, religion, and association.

Is this the state of freedom Americans choose to live under? It was achieved through a cooperative Congress and an anxious news media that reacted on the basis of a fear-mongering Intelligence and Law Enforcement Community backed by profiteers from the private sector eager to come to the rescue with all manners of big data analytics solutions. Over the ensuing years, public malaise seems to have set in yielding a general sense of resignation over the loss of privac y wherein it’s viewed to be a small price to pay for the convenience of having perpetual electronic access within reach 24/7.

Read More →

Feb 25 2015

2nd person told they’ve been taken off the US “No Fly” list

For only the second time, a would-be traveler has been given offical notice by the US government that they are not on the US “No Fly” list.

Just weeks before a scheduled March hearing in a Federal lawsuit brought by US citizen Jamal Tarhuni challenging his repeatedly having been prevented from boarding commercial airline flights, including flights back to his home in Oregon from overseas, the director of the DHS “Traveler Redress Inquiry Program” (DHS-TRIP) has sent Mr. Tarhuni the letter above, telling him that, “We have been advised that you have been removed from the No Fly List.”

The only previous time the US government has told anyone they weren’t on the no-fly list was last year, in response to a direct order from a Federal court in the case of Dr. Rahinah Ibrahim. Unlike Mr. Tarhuni, Dr. Ibrahim is not a US citizen, although one of her children was born in the US and is a US citizen. Dr. Irahim’s US visa has been revoked, so she can’t return to the US regardless of whether she is on the US no-fly list. The Supreme Court heard arguments earlier this week on whether State Department decisions to deny visas to family members of US citizens are subject to judicial review.

The DHS-TRIP letter to Mr. Tarhuni makes no promises about future actions, and doesn’t guarantee that he will be allowed to travel by air. He still doesn’t know why he was on the no-fly list in the first place. He could be put back on the no-fly list at any time (including, as happened to him before, while he is abroad), without notice or explanation. And even if he isn’t put back on the no-fly list, he could be refused permission to board any flight (again potentially including flights home to the US from abroad) based on real-time pre-crime profiling and risk scoring.

Presumably, the government will now seek to have Mt. Tarhuni’s complaint dismissed as “moot”.

The government is also likely to use its latest letter to Mr. Tarhuni as evidence in other pending no-fly cases, including those of Yonas Fikre (who is represented in his ongoing lawsuit by the same attorney as Mr. Tarhuni) and Gulet Mohamed. So far as we know, Mr. Fikre is the only person who has been given official notice that he is on the US no-fly list, and not just constructive notice in the form of a denial of transportation by an airline. Mr. Fikre was denied asylum in Sweden, and, since he is still on the US no-fly list, was able to return to the US only because the Swedish government chartered a private jet to deport him.

The system of secret, extrajudicial no-fly orders is working, the government will claim, so the courts don’t need to exercise oversight over the process. The government will argue that if DHS-TRIP and the government’s recently-revised “No Fly 2.0” procedures provide sufficient administrative due process, the courts don’t need to review the allegedly derogatory evidence (if any) supporting DHS and FBI no-fly decisions.

Feb 24 2015

Must we choose between the right to travel and the right to remain silent?

When US citizen Jonathan Corbett checked in at Heathrow Airport in London for an American Airlines flight to New York last December, he was questioned by an airline employee or contractor (it’s often impossible to tell which are which) about his travel outside the US:

When questions changed from, “Where are you flying?” to “Was your trip for personal or business purposes,” and “Where were you since you left America,” I asked if the questions were necessary, and was told yes.

Mr. Corbett was eventually allowed to board his flight without answering these questions. But he followed up first with the airline, which referred him to the TSA, and then with the TSA itself.

Both AA and the TSA said that the questioning is part of a TSA-mandated “security program”. While AA and the TSA both claimed that most details of this program are secret, the TSA “Office of Global Strategies Communications Desk” (OGSCommunications@tsa.dhs.gov) told Mr. Corbett that answering the questions is a condition of boarding a flight to the US:

As part of its Transportation Security Administration (TSA)-approved security program, American Airlines is required to conduct a security interview of passengers prior to departure to the United States… If a passenger declines the security inteview, American Airlines will deny the passenger boarding. The contents of the security program and the security interview are considered Sensitive Security Information (SSI) … and its contents are not for public disclosure. Any security procedure performed by the airline would be because of a requirement in their program.

Yesterday, Mr. Corbett filed suit against the TSA in both the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York (which has jurisdiction over Kennedy Airport in Queens, where his flight arrived in the US) and in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals (which has jurisdiction over Florida, where Mr. Corbett resides). Perverse judicial precedents including those in Mr. Corbett’s own previous lawsuits require most lawsuits against TSA practices to be filed simultaneously in both District and Circuit Courts, to avoid a risk of being dismissed on jurisdictional grounds.

Mr. Corbett’s lawsuit directly challenges the requirement for a traveler to answer questions (i.e. to waive his or her Firth Amendment right to remain silent) as a condition of the exercise of the rifght to travel, specifically the right of a US citizen to return to the US.

Feb 23 2015

REAL-ID Act implementation, enforcement, and resistance

Is gradual implementation of the REAL-ID Act cooking us slowly, like frogs who, if the temperature of the water is increased gradually enough, don’t realize that they need to jump out of the pot until it’s too late?

Last month was another of the deadlines set by the Department of Homeland Security for “implementation” and “enforcement” of the REAL-ID Act. That also makes it time for stepped-up resistance to REAL-ID.

Understanding the meaning of this deadline, and the remaining deadlines to come, requires some background. Below is an overview of what the REAL-ID Act is, how and by whom it will be implemented and enforced, what it means to “comply” with the REAL-ID Act, what we can expect to happen next, and — perphaps most importantly — what we can do, now, to resist it.

[See this 15-minute video for an introduction to the REAL-ID Act, and the REAL-ID category in this blog for more recent updates.]

The REAL-ID Act of 2005 is a Federal law intended to mandate the creation of a distributed but integrated national database of personal identity records (including birth certificates or alternative “breeder documents” [sic]) linked to state-issued identity credentials. The REAL-ID Act also includes Federal standards for the physical ID cards, including drivers’ licenses or alternative non-driver ID cards, issued by US states and territories. But the real focus is on the database: what data will be included and how it will be normalized and made accessible through a single user query interface.

The Federal government can, and often does, bribe states with Federal funding to do things the way the Feds want. But the REAL-ID Act didn’t include funding for state-level implementation, and was based (like many other DHS programs, such as its multi-billion dollar mandates for modifications to airline IT systems to support surveillance and control of air travelers) on gross underestimates of its cost. In any event, some states strongly opposed the whole idea of a national ID scheme, and would probably have declined to participate even if the Feds had been willing to foot the bill.

The states already manage the issuance of drivers’ licenses and non-driver ID cards, which are most US citizens’ primary government-issued identity credentials. Setting up a Federally-administered ID credential system would have been vastly more expensive and politically controversial than leaving it to the states.

So the problem for the architects of “REAL-ID” was how to induce all the states and territories to “comply” with goals and standards that would neither be officially binding on the states, nor financed by the Feds.

The workaround for indirect coercion of state governments was to threaten Federal sanctions against individual residents of states that don’t comply with the REAL-ID Act. The sponsors of REAL-ID hoped that these threats would scare voters into lobbying their state legislators’ to bring their states into line with the Feds’ desires.

The REAL-ID Act doesn’t officially “require” states or individuals to do anything. Its “enforcement” mechanism is a prohibition on acceptance for “Federal purposes” of drivers’ licenses or other ID credentials issued by states or territories that don’t comply with the requirements in the Federal law and the implementing regulations issued by the DHS.

There was still a problem for the DHS and the other backers of REAL-ID, however: How to make the threat of sanctions against residents of “noncompliant” states sufficiently harsh and sufficiently credible to get them to pressure their state governments to comply, without catalyzing a mass movement of grassroots resistance by outraged victims (or potential victims, or their supporters) of those sanctions.

The strategy adopted by the DHS has been to phase in the sanctions very gradually, over a period of many years, starting with those which would have the least significant consequences. The problem for the DHS is that those threats which are most intimidating are those which would be most likely to provoke blowback against the Feds, and lead to more pressure on Congress to repeal the REAL-ID Act. The result has been a decade-long game of chicken between the DHS and reluctant or resistant state governments.

The DHS won’t (and politically can’t) admit the possibility that states won’t kowtow to its demands. State legislators can’t believe that the DHS would really be able to get away with denying access to Federally-controlled facilities and programs (more on that below) to all residents of noncompliant states, as well as residents of compliant states who are unable and/or unwilling to satisfy the documentary prerequisites for issuance of a REAL-ID compliant ID card.

When states haven’t complied — because they didn’t want to, or because they couldnt’t afford to, or because it was taking longer than expected to develop the infrastructure for the distributed database — the DHS postponed the deadlines.

It’s been a decade since the REAL-ID act of 2005 was enacted, and most residents of “noncompliant” states have yet to be subjected to any Federal consequences for not having a REAL-ID card. The criterion for “compliance” is political obeisance and stated or inferred intent, not action. All states that said they intended eventually to comply were deemed to be “compliant”, and given extensions of time to get with the program in practice. Even some states which enacted state laws prohibiting state agencies from implementing REAL-ID procedures have been “certified” by the DHS to be in “constructive compliance” with the required intent to comply.

Is this DHS certiification wishful thinking? What will these states do as the deadlines approach? That remains to be seen, and depends primarily on what individual residents of those states do.

Feb 06 2015

Feds aggregating license-plate scans to track vehicles and people in real time

We’ve talked a lot about government surveillance and control of air travelers, and occasionally about its extension to bus and train travel. (Our FOIA request about this to Amtrak remains unanswered and several months overdue for a response.)

But can you avoid being tracked and watched by the government if you travel by private car? No:

A year ago, when the Department of Homeland Security cancelled a request for bids from commercial vendors to supply vehicle location logs compiled from automated (optical character recognition) license-plate readers, we pointed out that the DHS didn’t need to buy this information from commercial data aggregators, since it already had it available from government sources. In fact, as we noted then, the DHS had already given official notice of the inclusion of license-plate location logs in DHS databases about both US and foreign citizens (while claiming that a license plate number isn’t a “personal identifier”).

New documents released to the ACLU in response to FOIA requests and reported by the Wall Street Journal (paywalled article; NPR interview with the WSJ reporter on the story) confirm our suspicions: As early as 2009, a “National LPR Initiative” was compiling data from license-plate readers operated by the DHS and other Federal, state, and local government agencies to track both vehicles and their occupants in real time. (More background and additional documents from the ACLU’s previous FOIA requests regarding license-plate readers; related documents released to EPIC and to EFF.)

Many of the Federal government’s license-plate readers are operated by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) division of the DHS, under its assertion of authority to conduct unlimited “border” searches anywhere within 100 miles of a US land border or seacoast. But the master database is being compiled and maintained by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and used primarily to intercept domestic commerce in drugs and to target vehicles, cash, and other property that can be seized under “civil forfeiture” laws.

This isn’t, of course, the first time we’ve seen CBP’s assertion of a “Constitution-free zone” in coastal and border regions where the majority of the US population lives misused as the basis for surveillance of, and interference with, domestic travel. Sadly, we don’t expect that this will be the last such instance, either.

Feb 05 2015

TSA supervisor perjured himself to justify false arrest by Philly police

A Federal civil rights lawsuit recently filed in Philadephia describes a pattern of facts that combine the worst aspects of several previous incidents of TSA and local police collaboration in mistreatment of insufficiently subservient travelers.

Roger Vanderklok was falsely arrested at a TSA checkpoint at the PHL airport on January 26, 2013, “Because a TSA Supervisor did not like something Mr. Vanderklok said to him and because Philadelphia Police personnel failed to perform their duties and arrested him without probable cause.”

Mr. Vanderklok was on his way to Miami to run in a marathon, and had some “Power Bars” (essentially a cross between candy bars and granola bars marketed to athletes), in their original sealed and labeled packaging, and a sports watch with a heart rate sensor in his carry-on luggage.

Mr. Vanderklok has described the circumstances of his arrest in the complaint initiating his Federal lawsuit, and in interviews with the Philadelphia Daily News and the Associated Press.

You don’t have to take Mr. Vanderklok’s word for what happened, or for whether the TSA testified truthfully against him. You can judge for yourself. Compare the airport and/or TSA video included in this television news report (showing Mr. Vanderklok standing peacefully with his hands clasped in front of himself, at belt level, around his laptop computer) with the lies in the TSA supervisor’s testimony at Mr. Vanderklok’s trial, as reported in Mr. Vanderklok’s Federal complaint:

Under oath in Municipal Court, the TSA supervisor testified that his attention was directed to Mr. Vanderklok when Mr. Vanderklok became “irate” and started angrily waving his arms and hands in the air. The TSA supervisor demonstrated this for the Court. The TSA supervisor testified that he approached Mr. Vander clock, who eventually stated: “Let me tell you something — I’ll bring a bomb through here any day that I want … you’ll never find it.”…

The TSA supervisor testified that “the passenger [Mr. Vanderklok] put his finger in my face.” He went on to demonstrate for the court. He testified that Mr. Vanderklok’s finger came within six to eight inches of his face. He testified that Mr. Vanderklok moved his finger towards and away from his face approximately six times.

It’s clear from the video that Mr. Vanderklok made no such movements or gestures. It’s also clear that the Philadelphia police took him into custody as soon as they arrived, without further ado.

Needless to say, this TSA perjury to try to justify the unlawful arrest of a disfavored traveler reminds us of the (equally unsuccessful, fortunately) frame-up of Phil Mocek by Albuquerque police and TSA staff, just as Mr. Vanderklok’s Federal lawsuit reminds us of Mr. Mocek’s ongoing lawsuit against the ABQ police and TSA. (Oral argument on Mr. Mocek’s appeal is scheduled for March 17th in Denver.)

Feb 04 2015

Hearing March 17th in Denver on “Freedom Flyer” Phil Mocek’s appeal

Oral arguments on “Freedom Flyer” Phil Mocek’s appeal of the dismissal of his Federal civil rights lawsuit against the TSA employees and Albuquerque police responsible for falsely arresting him at a TSA checkpoint at the Albuquerque airport in 2009 have been scheduled for Tuesday, March 17th, in Denver, Colorado.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals hearing will be (sort of) open to the public, with caveats as discussed below.

Mr. Mocek was arrested — valid boarding pass in hand — in retaliation for trying to exercise his First Amendment rights to (a) travel by licensed interstate common carrier and (b) film and record what happened when he tried to fly without having government-issued ID credentials in his possession.

Despite the inept efforts of the police to destroy the evidence against themselves (Mr. Mocek’s audio and video recording of his false arrest, which he was able to recover) and their equally inept efforts to lie about what had happened in their written reports and in their testimony at Mr. Mocek’s criminal trial, Mr. Mocek was acquitted by an Albuquerque jury on January 21, 2011, of all of the charges that were trumped up after the fact to try to justify his arrest.

On November 14, 2011, Mr., Mocek sued the TSA, the city of Albuquerque and its police, and the individual TSA employees and police officers responsible for depriving him of his civil rights.

In pre-trial rulings on January 24, 2013 and February 28, 2014, a Federal District Court judge in Albuquerque dismissed all of Mr. Mocek’s complaints against the various Federal government, local government, and individual defendants on the grounds that:

The TSA and its employees were not responsible for what happened to Mr. Mocek after they called the police. The TSA swears that its checkpoint staff have no authority to arrest anyone or tell the police to do so. But this issue is now the subject of an explicitly acknowledged dispute between the 4th Circuit (“It is an undoubtedly natural consequence of reporting a person to the police that the person will be arrested; especially in the scenario we have here, where TSA and [airport] police act in close concert”) and the 3rd Circuit (“[I]t seems just as likely that police officers who are summoned by TSA Officials would use their own independent discretion to determine whether there are sufficient grounds to take someone into custody”).
The defendants all had “qualified immunity” from liability because the First Amendment right to film and record the actions of the TSA and police at a checkpoint for passengers passing through a publicly-owned and operated airport en route to flights operated by Federally-licensed interstate common carriers was either nonexistent or not “clearly established”. This makes a mockery, of course, not just of the First Amendment itself but of the entire body of “Freedom Rider” case law concerning the First Amendment rights of interstate common-carrier (bus) passengers passing thrrough publicly and even at privately-owned and operated terminal and transit facilities.
The arrest of Mr. Mocek was permissible because the police “had reasonable suspicion to demand that Mocek produce identifying documents, and, upon his failure to comply, probable cause for his arrest.” This claim fundamentally misconstrues both New Mexico law on ID and key aspects of the Supreme Court’s decision in Hiibel v. 6th Judicial District Court.

Mr. Mocek then appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. Written briefs were filed by Mr. Mocek (Appellent/Petitioner) and the original defendants (Appellees/Respondents):

Oral argument before a three-judge panel of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled for Tuesday, March 17, 2015, beginning at 9 a.m., in Courtroom 2 of the Byron White U.S. Courthouse, 1823 Stout St., Denver, CO. Oral argument will probably last no more than an hour, but there are five cases on the same 9 a.m. argument calendar, so people planning to attend should probably allow the whole morning.

“Identification” is required to enter the courthouse, but there don’t appear to be any published rules as to what constitutes sufficient ID. According to Local Rule 57.4 (”Security”):

On request of a United States marshal, court security officer, federal protective service officer, or court official, anyone within or seeking entry to any court building shall produce identification and state the nature of his or her business. Failure to provide identification or information shall be grounds for removal or exclusion from the building.

Photography, audio or video recording, or broadcasting are prohibited anywhere inside the courthouse (not just in courtrooms). Cameras and recording or broadcasting devices that lack any other functions are barred form the courthouse. Cell phone, laptops, and other electronic devices are allowed in the courthouse, and may be used (silently and without photography or audio or video recording or broadcasting) in the courtroom, subject to these rules of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, which manages the building in which both courts are located.

There’s more information in our FAQ’s about the original events and Mr. Mocek’s false arrest and eventual acquittal on criminal charges and about Mr. Mocek’s ongoing Federal civil rights lawsuit which is the subject of this appellate hearing.

We’ll be in Denver on March 17th to observe and report on this hearing and to show our continued support for Mr. Mocek. We invite you to join us inside and/or outside the courthouse, and/or to help pay off Mr. Mocek’s debts for the costs of defending himself against the original false criminal charges.

Papers, Please!

The Identity Project