D.C. Court Scolds TSA for Ignoring Its Ruling

After more than a year of applying body-scanning technology without government oversight, the TSA may have to establish some formal rules and procedures for using the machines. 

The infamous full-body scanners are used at 19 airports across the country. In 2010 the Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a lawsuit challenging the legitimacy of body scanners. The Court of Appeals in the D.C. Circuit ruled the following year that the TSA needed to create some comprehensive rules for body scanner use. And of course the TSA promptly ignored it.

After a year of the TSA doing absolutely nothing, the court has demanded that the TSA create some body-scan regulation.

With all of that in mind, Cato's Jim Harper has created a "Require the Transportation Security Administration to Follow the Law!" petition on the White House website, which demands the TSA either make some rules about scanning, or cut it the hell out. If the petition has 25,000 signatures by next Thursday, the White House is comitted to respond formally. So sign it.

More on the TSA here and here.

Comments

[Warty]

To go into the airport you must be very brave, but nobody withstands THE MACHINE.

Excellent.

[Fist of Etiquette]

After a year of the TSA doing absolutely nothing, the court has demanded that the TSA create some body-scan regulation.

Re-demanded.

[Pro Libertate]

WTF? I'm getting very disturbed by this latest tactic of the administration ignoring court orders. Pretty much the whole system falls apart without the three branches remaining in place. With their respective powers. What is this, Andy Jackson times?

[Episiarch]

They get away with it. Why wouldn't they do it?

But remember, we live under the rule of law, so everything's OK. Right?

[Pro Libertate]

The fool of law? The tool of law?

[Episiarch]

The mule of law, which is beaten by our masters in the government every day.

[Pro Libertate]

Oh, I see. So this mule lives in DC?

[Episiarch]

Yes, it's named "The Constitution".

[Pro Libertate]

I've heard of that. It's a mule, huh? I always thought it was a ship or something. Never understood what it had to do with government, though. Maybe they met on board it or something?

The mule makes more sense.

[$park?]

It's not a ship, it's a ship class.

[Pro Libertate]

I thought it was some old wooden ship they kept up from Revolutionary times. Must have some old-timey writing on the side, too, because people are always talking about writing on it.

[Auric Demonocles]

There happens to be a ship in Boston that is old and bears that name, but it's just a coincidence with the mule in DC.

[Lost_In_Translation]

mules kick something fierce though, just don't stand behind the mule of law when you're beating it.

*that sounded dirty*

[Almanian's Evil Twin]

just don't stand behind the mule of law when you're beating it

THAT'S WHAT SHEEEEEE SAID!!!!

[Loki]

just don't stand behind the mule of law when you're beating it.

Lesson number 1 for aspiring Inter-Specied Erotica professionals.

[Pro Libertate]

The Zuul of law?

[Almanian's Evil Twin]

The "yule" of law. You hear it referred to in Christmas stories about "burning the yule law as the chirrens opened teh prezentzzzs and so on and so forth..."

[Pro Libertate]

Oh, right, the yule of law.

[Anonymous Coward]

WTF? I'm getting very disturbed by this latest tactic of the administration ignoring court orders. Pretty much the whole system falls apart without the three branches remaining in place. With their respective powers. What is this, Andy Jackson times?

Hey! Do you want the terrorists to win?

[Rich]

the TSA may have to establish some formal rules and procedures ... create some comprehensive rules ... some body-scan regulation ... some rules about scanning

"Oh, very well. We'll scan only on days that end in 'y'."

[Dylan]

We will only scan people we want to see naked.

[R C Dean]

Judges are such pussies these days.

Issue the order telling them to write the fucking regs.

If they don't issue another order that all the machines have to be removed from airports unless the regs are adopted as final within X days.

If that doesn't work, start jailing TSA honchos for contempt.

You're a fucking federal judge with lifetime tenure. Nobody can touch you. Do the right thing, you wimps.

[Pro Libertate]

Oh, man, I'd love that. What we need is more of that sort of thing and more constitutional crises.

[robc]

BTW, X should be 0.

[tarran]

I'm sorry...

How many divisions does the judiciary have again?

[Pro Libertate]

Let the administration openly defy direct court orders. That will stir the shit very nicely. There's a little of that going on already, of course, but it hasn't been that overt.

[R C Dean]

How many divisions does the judiciary have again?

Just as many as the TSA, I would expect. And the judge can send federal marshals. Who is the TSA going to put up?

[Lord Humungus]

yep - remember that the TSA has no powers to arrest.

[Adam330]

Read the opinion. EPIC essentially lost. The DC circuit clearly doesn't see this as particularly important because the narrow issue that EPIC won on is pretty arcane- the regs (which exist, but just weren't issued the right way) were all upheld.

[Suthenboy]

See John Roberts; world class coward.

When the chief justice of the supreme court doesnt have a pair large enough to see with the naked eye, how can you expect lower court judges to behave as if they do?

[Spoonman.]

Petition +1'd, for all the good it'll do.

[Lost_In_Translation]

The infamous full-body scanners are used at 19 airports across the country.

ummm, either I've been to all 19, or that number is a little low

[Lost_In_Translation]

ah, looked it up, 190. That sounds better.

[protefeed]

Sounds more accurate. Not "better".

[Lost_In_Translation]

I sit corrected.

[Spoonman.]

Yeah, I was thinking "if I were prioritizing airports, Corpus Christi wouldn't be in the top 19."

[Lost_In_Translation]

or Amarillo, which I think is made up entirely of oil men and little old ladies.

[BakedPenguin]

Remind me never to attend an orgy there.

[Lost_In_Translation]

just don't go there for any reason

[Hugh Akston]

If the petition has 25,000 signatures by next Thursday, the White House is comitted to respond formally. So sign it.

1) The formal response will be along the lines of "The White House is committed to the security of our nation's airports, etc etc etc" with no action taken.

2) That's 25,000 new additions to the no-fly list.

[Rich]

*** goes to Petition linky ***

"A whitehouse.gov account is required to sign Petitions."

*** hovers on "WHY?" ***

"In order to sign petitions, you must create a Whitehouse.gov account."

*** leaves site ***

[Mr. FIFY]

Don't blame ya, Rich. Whitehouse.gov already knows more about us than they need to know.

[Lost_In_Translation]

whitehouse.com knows more about me than i'm comfortable with...

[Pip]

So in other words, in order to sigh a Whitehouse petition, I have to show the proper ID?

[Almanian's Evil Twin]

"YOUR PAPERSSSS, PLEEEESSSS...!!"

[R C Dean]

Its "Papieren, bitte."

Tow the teutonic lion, Evil One.

[Auric Demonocles]

Let's start a petition to not need a Whitehouse.gov account for petitions.

[Episiarch]

Yeah, exactly. We've seen what a "promise" from this administration means. Jack and shit, and Jack left town.

[Almanian's Evil Twin]

Watched "Army of Darkness" with my son last week - the torch has been passed.

"Ohhhh, he's that guy from 'Burn Notice'..."

"NO! NO! That's Bruce Campbell, this movie is epic, and he shops SMART - he shopas a 'S Mart'...."

[Pro Libertate]

That's just wrong.

I saw a video with the stars of Burn Notice on a panel, and, make no mistake, the big star--by far--was Campbell. And everyone acknowledged that fact and that it was just.

[Almanian's Evil Twin]

The important thing is that my son now knows Bruce Campbell is "that guy from 'Army of Darkness'", not "that guy from 'Burn Notice'"

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!

*lands plane on carrier deck - jumps out - salutes*

[Auric Demonocles]

But Epi, they've responded so thoroughly to all the other petitions!

[Rod Flash]

I registered a couple of years ago so I could sign all the "Why is the President laughing at people who ask about pot" petitions. At some point I got my password screwed up, and now I can't sign. I've gone through the "forgot your password" process a dozen times or so, and they always promise to send an email explaining how to reset. They've never followed through. And yes, I did check my spam folder. I guess they only allow password resets for Dems.

[The Late P Brooks]

...and nothing else happened.

(Well, Janet Napolitano and John Pistole laughed until their sides hurt.)

[protefeed]

I'm guessing the TSA regs might not be much of an improvement over the status quo police state at airports.

[$park?]

"What did this do to you? Tell me. And remember, this is for posterity so be honest. How do you feel?"

*cries and moans in pain*

"Interesting. "

[Tim]

This is a trick to get libertarians to register with the White House.

[Tim]

Yes you're actually putting your name on the mass arrest list for November.

[Almanian's Evil Twin]

I used your name and email.

Sorry...:(....

[Dr. Frankenstein]

No thanks, I've already registered at Reason.

[Adam330]

All the court did was order TSA to respond to EPIC's petition for writ. Here's the order: http://epic.org/privacy/body_s.....-1-12.pdf. It's entirely procedural and say nothing about the merits of EPIC's case.

The opinion from last year also didn't order TSA to create a regulation- it just said that TSA didn't justify its decision to skip the notice and comment process. It expressly reserved the issue of whether TSA could invoke an exception. And it upheld all of the TSA's informal rules. Basically, EPIC lost, except on a very narrow and essentially meaningless issue of administrative law.

[Lost_In_Translation]

EPIC fail...?

[Almanian's Evil Twin]

HIYOOOOOO!!!

[Pro Libertate]

That's not what the posting says. I need a ruling here.

[Loki]

If the petition has 25,000 signatures by next Thursday, the White House is comitted to respond formally.

Let me be clear: Fuck You, That's Why!

[Proprietist]

I work on the floor above the local TSA office. Just went down to the bathroom and I swear one of the dudes was jerking it in there based on the sounds he was making.

[Loki]

That's the sound of your tax dollars hard at work.

[R C Dean]

fap, fap, fap, STOP RESISTING, fap, fap . . . .

[BakedPenguin]

He has to do something after groping that 8 year old. Can't walk around with a boner all day.

[Almanian's Evil Twin]

"Rub some dirt on it! Wait, no...that's a scratch. Um...jerk off! That's it!"

[Suthenboy]

Thats the guy that runs the body scanner, he is on break.

[Suthenboy]

Heh. Baked Penguin rendered my comment irrelevant while I was typing. that one is so much better.

[TiggFooo]

lol, the TSA is such a jopke. Wow. Who would have thunk it.

http://www.Anon-Do.tk