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Court to hear lawsuit over 'no fly' list
An appeals court in Oregon is scheduled to consider on Friday a lawsuit against the "no fly" list that is used by the Transportation Security Administration.
The New York-based American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is suing on behalf of a group of Muslim citizens who have been blocked from flying because of their inclusion on the list, which is used by the TSA and other law enforcement agencies to flag suspected terrorists.
"Being unable to fly has severely affected the plaintiffs' lives, including their ability to be with their families, go to school, and travel for work," the ACLU said in a blog post on its website Friday.
"It is unconstitutional for the government to put people on secret lists and deny them the right to travel without even basic due process," the blog post continued. "Without a meaningful way for people to challenge their inclusion on the list, there's also no way to keep innocent people off it."
The case against the "no fly" list was heard by a district court in Portland last year, but the judge in that hearing ruled the case should have been filed against the TSA instead of the Terrorist Screening Center, which is a subsidiary of the Federal Bureau of Investigations that maintains the list.
The judge said TSA should have been named as the defendant because they handle the requests from passengers who are denied boarding because of placement on the "no fly" list, the ACLU said. The TSC just creates the list, the district judge ruled.
The ACLU said Friday that it is asking an appellate judge to overturn the decision because "the government itself admitted that the Transportation Security Administration plays only a ministerial role, and it is the Terrorist Screening Center that makes the decision to put people on the No-Fly List or remove them.
"We filed our case against the right agency, and the government's effort to delay a hearing on the constitutionality of this unfair system is wrong," the civil liberties protection group said.
The "no fly" list has been in the news this week because the parents of an 18-month-old baby have said that their daughter was prohibited from boarding a plane in Florida because she was placed on the list.
TSA has denied the child was marked on the "no fly" list, and its website says passengers are not given boarding passes if they are identified on the watch list.
"If a passenger feels they have been misidentified, redress is an opportunity to seek resolution and avoid future delays," the TSA website says about its "Secure
Flight" program. "Any passenger who believes he/she has been delayed or denied boarding or delayed or denied entry into the United States at a port of entry may seek redress through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (TRIP) at www.dhs.gov/trip."
One of the plaintiffs in the ACLU case said in the association's blog post that it is not that simple, however.
"I have no idea why I'm on the list," Abe Mashal, who the ACLU said was a retired Marine, said in the blog post. "I should have the chance to clear my name and live my life normally. This has been a real hardship for me both personally and financially."
