Library Chief Criticized for Requiring Subpoena

sudnshok writes "Hasbrouck Heights (NJ) Library Director Michele Reutty is under fire for refusing to give police library circulation records without a subpoena. Her lawyer explained, 'Reutty did the right thing... At no time did Michele Reutty say to any police officer or anybody else that she would not give the information if it was properly requested.' However, borough labor lawyer Ellen Horn, who also represented the library trustees, said Reutty was 'more interested in protecting' her library than helping the police. 'It was an absolute misjudgment of the seriousness of the matter,' Horn said."

Comments

Re:She Did The Wrong Thing

[MrNaz]

Please refrain from reading anything ever again. In future, if you ever require an opinion please contact your local law enforcement authority and you will be issued one in due course. Do not give out this opinion to others as a) they don't want to hear it and b) they will source their own opinions from wherever they see fit.

Yours truly,
George Bush,
Prezident of the United Satest.

Send your thanks to...

[mattkime]

A quick googling reveals that you can send your thanks and support to reutty@BCCLS.ORG.

I already have.

(Does anyone else just love that some cases are too important for proper legal procedure? They should have gotten warrants in the first place...)

Re:Journalism isn't an exact science

[ClamIAm]

I doubt the city or the police will forget in a hurry, no matter who was in the right, and that should be the real point of concern.

Any person who wants to raise a concern or stand up for what they believe in is a "troublemaker", and will be dealt with accordingly. It doesn't matter what it is, the fact remains that they oppose someone in power, and will be harassed unless there is massive public outcry (or lawsuits that prevent further harassment).

Also, this isn't limited to police. Any organization, church or business will have a certain code that, when broken, results in labeling the perpetrator a "heretic" or somesuch.

Also also, I'm not being Orwellian here. This is the way things have always been.

let's do something about it

[Anonymous Coward]

Let's tell these sociopathic assholes what we think of their attempts to trample on our rights.

HASBROUCK HEIGHTS NJ - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasbrouck_Heights,_Ne w_Jersey
General Info - http://www.hasbrouck-heights.nj.us/general/towninf o.html

Mayor Ronald R. Jones
Borough of Hasbrouck Heights
320 Boulevard
Hasbrouck Heights, NJ 07604 USA
Phone: (201)-288-4111

Police Chief Michael Colaneri
Hasbrouck Heights (Bergen County)
248 Hamilton Avenue
Hasbrouck Heights, NJ 07604-1811
Phone: (201) 288-1000
Fax: (201) 288-1691

Bergen County Prosecutor's Office
10 Main Street
Hackensack, NJ 07601
Mon-Fri (201) 646-2300
After Hours (201) 646-2700

Also let's show Ms. Reutty our support!

Michele Reutty, Director
Free Public Library of Hasbrouck Heights
320 Boulevard, Hasbrouck Heights NJ 07604
E-mail: reutty@bccls.org
TEL: 201-288-0488
FAX: 201-288-6653

i am going to give her a call when i get done w/ work.

i gaurantee if the people involved get just a few dozen calls or emails it will make them think twice. please take a moment to show your anger and/or support.

Re:So what?

[OzoneLad]

"If the police aren't abusing their powers and have a legal claim to the information then what's the problem here?"

That's what a warrant or a subpoena is for, establishing that the police have a legal claim to the information.

-HT

Text of NJ Library Privacy Statute

[patio11]

Library records which contain the names or other personally identifying details regarding the users of libraries are confidential and shall not be disclosed except in the following circumstances:

      a. The records are necessary for the proper operation of the library;

      b. Disclosure is requested by the user; or

      c. Disclosure is required pursuant to a subpena [sic -- probably transcription error in the database] issued by a court or court order.

      L. 1985, c. 172, s. 2, eff. May 31, 1985.

Re:Oh the Pain

[Trailer Trash]

Laws don;t exist in a vacuum; they are designed (or they should be) to protect you.

That's right, but they do so passively, not actively. In other words, I am protected every time a criminal is removed from the general population and locked up. On the other hand, if someone breaks into my house while I'm home, I have to protect myself. SCOTUS has ruled twice recently that the police have no legal obligation to protect you. There is no law that says I have to be protected from criminals by the government.

Re:Oh the Pain

[John Courtland]

Castle Rock v. Gonzales: http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/04-278.ZS.ht ml

Re:Protecting privacy

[glesga_kiss]

Spend a lot of time contemplating the hatred I've followed, and the the company I've kept that got me into this mess.

Or you could contemplate the fact that they got your name through either:

• Cash given for "information"
• Someone elses torture

This has precident. In the UK when we had our terrorism scare from the IRA many Irish people were arrested and fitted up for crimes they had no involvement. During the "interogation" many gave the names of people they knew had no involvement in terrorism just to end the pain. They selected these people because had they named real people they suspected of being terrorists, they and their family would die horribly. Many of those people got the same treatment.

The common joke at the time was "innocent until proven Irish". The only thing that's changed is skin colour and that only seems to be making this problem far worse as it goes beyond sectarianism into pure racism. Arab == terrorist in your eyes. How can any of them be innocent...etc etc etc?

Re:Protecting privacy

[IAmTheDave]

Sorry to post this here, as it's not really a legit response, but here is the contact page for the library system. Be sure to send in an email or give a call to the Bergen County Cooperative Library System in support of Michele Reutty.

Is it just me, or are librarians like the only ones taking a unified stand against the coming police state??

http://www.bccls.org/hasbrouck/contactus.htm