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TSA Screeners Win Immunity From Abuse Claims, Court Rules (reuters.com)
Mr.Intel writes from a report via Reuters: "Fliers may have a tough time recovering damages for invasive screenings at U.S. airport security checkpoints, after a federal appeals court on Wednesday said screeners are immune from claims under a federal law governing assaults, false arrests and other abuses," reports Reuters. In a 2-1 vote, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia said Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners are shielded from liability under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) because they do not function as "investigative or law enforcement officers."
The decision, the first on the issue by a federal appeals court, was a defeat for Nadine Pellegrino, a business consultant from Boca Raton, Florida. "She and her husband had sued for false arrest, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution over a July 2006 altercation at Philadelphia International Airport," reports Reuters. According to court papers, Pellegrino had been randomly selected for additional screening at the Philadelphia airport before boarding a U.S. Airways flight to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Pellegrino, then 57, objected to the invasiveness of the search, but conditions deteriorated and she was later jailed for about 18 hours, the papers show. Criminal charges were filed, and Pellegrino was acquitted at a March 2008 trial.
The decision, the first on the issue by a federal appeals court, was a defeat for Nadine Pellegrino, a business consultant from Boca Raton, Florida. "She and her husband had sued for false arrest, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution over a July 2006 altercation at Philadelphia International Airport," reports Reuters. According to court papers, Pellegrino had been randomly selected for additional screening at the Philadelphia airport before boarding a U.S. Airways flight to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Pellegrino, then 57, objected to the invasiveness of the search, but conditions deteriorated and she was later jailed for about 18 hours, the papers show. Criminal charges were filed, and Pellegrino was acquitted at a March 2008 trial.
i guess pretty soon every kiddy fiddler and other person who is into indecent assault will be working for the TSA, paid for by the US government. Great work.
If you see a TSA screener get in an accident, help the other person first, even if their car is burning. If you serve a TSA screener in a restaurant, make sure they wait a long time for stale dogfood. Ask them if they like to abuse the public if you see them in uniform off the job. Ostracism and public humiliation can be powerful tools for good.
If they're not "investigative or law enforcement officers", then they can not detain you, and you should be able to walk right past the security checkpoint.
they do not function as "investigative or law enforcement officers."
Then what is their function? Also, they'd likely get in a lot less trouble if they'd stop being so investigative of people's privates.
If you told someone back in the 90's that in order to get on a flight now you'd have to give a 3D scan of your naked body they'd accuse you of being some conspiracy tinfoil hat nutter who smokes too much weed.
Who or what is "creimer"? I think this is the third or so time I hear that term/name but I really cannot figure out what you refer to.
Their purpose it to humiliate, discriminate, intimidate, ridicule, and just generally instill fear in everyone who flies. They are just doing their job. And they do it so well.
in that they have immunity from behind held accountable from breaking the law. The worse thing though for the TSA is that they have less training and don't have to take an oath like cops do so this is even worse.
Who or what is "creimer"? I think this is the third or so time I hear that term/name but I really cannot figure out what you refer to.
Be glad you don't know.
This is why I no longer fly. When the government treats you as a criminal, even though you've done nothing wrong, and you have no recourse, we've reach an Orwellian state.
The best thing people can do is not fly and let the airlines fall apart.
But they won't. As we see every day, people are too stupid to say no to injustices such as this. They'll gladly endure every imaginable humiliation because their government says it's for their protection.
"investigative or law enforcement officers." Nope they don't, I am sure that some are good workers just trying to do a job. But now what do we do with the criminals, pervs and thieves?
;)
Oh that is right, they work for the government so none of them are criminals, pervs or thieves! Besides why should ordinary people have any recourse.
Just my 2 cents
Why does an appeals court make a decision belonging to the legislators to exclude the TSA workers? They should have ruled on the specific case only.
putting the women and children in one line, men in another, collecting all jewelry and items of value, and asking everyone to undress before going through a door into a room of unknown function.
There is no other solution that will work. This generation has proven that America is headed blinding charging forward on a path towards Idiocracy. Lots of 2nd and 3rd world nations as well, even ones that had previously been considered progressive in comparison to their cultural norms.
Fixing today's society isn't possible without first implementing a smaller scale model nation, breeding a 2nd or third generation of learned intellectuals, then returning to former parent nations and breeding like crazy to overcome the stupid. Unless all of the above happens, things will only get worse, unless the even worse alternative is taken and eugenics is practiced against the underperforming masses. But that path is fraught with the exact same perils that lead to the current situation, and do we really want to repeat it again?
Given that I cannot ever recall seeing one of these, they must have been eminently forgettable. On the other hand, the sheer volume of spam _about_ Creimer has
a) made him look like a victim of targeted harassment, and
b) been more memorable and disruptive than anything he did.
Given that the justification for this behaviour is that Creimer's behaviour was an abuse of Slashdot, critical self reflection doesn't seem to be a strong suit of whomever is posting the anti-Criemer spam.
a sub set of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. So I think (not a lawyer) that an appeal can be made to the entire 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. So this may not be the final outcome. Time will tell.
;)
Just my 2 cents
Sovereign immunity confuses the heck out of me. The idea that law enforcement is immune to prosecution is preposterous. The very concept seems to violate the 5th amendment to the constitution. Someone needs to hold them accountable.
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
It seems quite obvious to me that someone having the power to hold someone for 18 hours arbitrarily is not someone you want immune from prosecution. I get that the government doesn't want every criminal suing the police because they can, but the current situation seems ripe for abuse. A TSA screener should not hold that kind of power. Maybe we need to permit liability in the event that the person is acquitted or charges dropped, like what happened here?
Yep.. by pass this shit law and make em feel the pain
Yep. I drive. Upcoming events in California in November may make me make an exception, but maybe just won't go. Dunno. Having 4th Amendment rights violated repeatedly (Judge Napolitano, the Fox News legal consultant, says its absolutely a violation of the 4th Amendment for the gov't to be doing this - the airlines could do it, but gov't hired officials can't legally do it) rubs me the wrong way, plus when I do travel, I usually have along a piece of electronics that is 1) essential to the reason I fly, 2) is intrinsic to the enjoyment of the activity I'm traveling to and 3) is no longer available at any price other than if I could maybe buy a used one from somebody, the availability not being guaranteed. Soooo... I don't need anyone handling it other than me, inspecting it, maybe dropping it, or in checked baggage (although I never do that, but sometimes the overheads are too small to accommodate it so my carry-ons end up with the checked baggage where they can maybe be stolen, lost, or crushed)
Sooo... if I go at all anymore, I almost every time will drive. They'll have to chase me down at 80 mph on I-10 to feel me up or screw-up my precious electronics. It will be in the trunk and as safe as I am. I wreck sufficiently to harm it, I'm probably more worried about my hair, teeth, and eyes all over the highway.
we did exactly what we wanted them to do. We freaked the hell out, got involved in several pointless wars that are killing our nation (our infrastructure crumbles while we waste trillions in Iraq/Afghanistan). They played us like a harp.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
the tsa are rent a cops with gov jobs / unions. When the tsa took over the took on a on the old rent a cops that used to the same job.
Dude was/is annoying (yeah, he did throw out a lot of bullshit affiliate links), but it's pretty annoying reading through CreimerDot these days. Can't y'all just either have sex or kill each other, or something, and leave the rest of us alone? We're hanging out in a website that is, unlike many, twenty years old, and frankly we'd like to keep on being cranky internet bastards. Go fight on Reddit. Or, hell, go take over Digg.
Where's all the European dudes saying "I'll never fly to America again now for sure!!!!" They are slow on the draw today.
The answer is simple - if you are lucky not to be American, just donâ(TM)t cross a border controlled by TSA.
I get what you are saying, at least as far as Sanders. But what if it were Trump?
Have you heard of the trolley problem (in ethics)? I know which way I'd go.
I can feel you up and steal your stuff and theres (sic) not a damn thing you can do about it!!!!!!!!
I have a feeling that this will get appealed. I will only be concerned about with the final decision from the appellate court and/or Supreme Court.
Of course they are not "investigative or law enforcement officers" because if they were, they would need a warrant based on probable cause to perform legal searches of passengers. This will inevitably lead to a new government agency: Not Federal Bureau of Investigation (NFBI), which acts similar to the FBI, except operates without warrants.
dont know about the best. g n a a was waaaaay more entertaining.
"No one is above the law"
What fucking bullshit, America, you are a liar of a nation....
That's still a pretty nasty attitude.
Yes it is though you can make an argument that they are simply reaping what they've sown. This administration has been, ahem... less than tolerant of others, so it's somewhat ironic that they would get upset when it happens back at them. I'm not saying the behavior was right or should be condoned but I do admit to a bit of schadenfreude when I heard about it. To paraphrase Chris Rock, I'm not saying it's right but I understand...
If there is someone in a restaurant that you don't like, take a deep breath, suppress your penchant for political belligerence, and mind your own business.
That is the appropriate and civil behavior. It would be nice if our current president and his cronies would return the favor.
I believe you're very confused. Right now in this country the ones preaching tolerance are on the left and they're the most intolerant people on earth.
Oh bullshit. The left aren't the ones making travel bans for muslims. They aren't the ones ostracizing LGBT people. They aren't the ones advocating for police brutality. They aren't the ones trying to disenfranchise minorities from voting. They aren't the ones pushing against womens rights to control their reproductive systems. You think the left is intolerant? Compared to the right they are ridiculously tolerant of others. To the point of being politically ineffective at times. Sure some on the left are absolutely guilty of not practicing what they preach but compared to the right it's not even a competition when it comes to intolerance.
Here's a clue for you. When over 90% of black people and the majority of other minorities vote for the left it's because they think (correctly) that the right is actively working against them.
They want you fired, silenced, and punished if you don't agree with everything they are for.
Sure and the right never does that. Tell you what, go ahead and tell a conservative christian that you are gay and that jesus is a lie and see what happens to you.
Seriously hating law enforcement officials doing their job? What the heck is wrong with you people?
Thank you!
Goodbye, Slashdot!
... no accountability.
If they are not law enforcement, then I would assume they have less latitude when it comes to detaining/abusing citizens. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this would put them on equal footing with private security. If you are private security, and you detain someone for 18 hours without calling the police you are probably looking a kidnapping charge.
they do not function as "investigative or law enforcement officers."
So they're not enforcing any laws by "screening" people and detailing + questioning suspicious individuals: what?
paper please
Just walk through the checkpoint and act like it doesn't exist. If they tell you to stop, ignore them. If they get physical treat them as you would treat any random stranger threatening you and then assaulting you, punch them in the gut/knee them in the balls and keep walking.
Yes, they will call the police. Once they arrive, do as the police ask, but remind the police the TSA are just idiotic citizens that assaulted you as you were ignoring them.
Yes, you will get told to leave the airport, but you got to knee the TSA agent in the balls, and that's worth it. And the courts are not going to complain about you defending yourself against someone who is not law enforcement.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Glorified mall cops, nothing else.
You lose all your rights the moment you set foot inside an airport. It does not matter what is right, fair, or logical. This is how it works, now.
They can detain you, humiliate you, grope you, force you to undress, photograph you nude, expose you to cancer-causing radiation, etc., and there isn't a darn thing you can do about it.
This goes for your kids, as well.
I don't understand why people are so willing to put up with this.
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Comment removed based on user account deletion
"He also have an awesome YouTube channel "
Chris, you don't have an awesome channel. For fuck's sake, put some effort into your crammar!
It's easier to go here.
Yea but what your hobby says about you should be something you give some thought to.
screeners are immune from claims under a federal law governing [...] false arrests [...] because they do not function as "investigative or law enforcement officers."
Okay. Then what's the penalty for impersonating an officer, battery, and criminal confinement?
If they are not "investigative or law enforcement officers", then how are their searches legal? If that's true then even a warrant wouldn't make them legal because only "investigative or law enforcement officers" can get warrants. Rent-A-Cops cannot get warrants. They shouldn't even be allowed to ask questions; they are the equivalent of any fellow citizen who just happen to be standing at the head of a line.
Yeah, I know. Border, Customs & Immigration isn't considered to be "part of the country", worthy of legal protection. Well if the border isn't "part of the country", then why is that territory policed?
Talk about a rigged game. That's just what we need, TSA Screeners who are above the law. Let's see, what other class of protected citizens can we raise to demi-gods, miniature Napoleons, kings and queens without thrones?
I feel that if I ignored Chris, he might go over the edge. He has no friends, no life, and no future. The attention I give him is probably the only thing keeping him going.
If they are not cops, I do not have to obey orders
Thanks!@!!
What about people from outside the US? Has the number of tourists visiting the US decreased over the recent years, due to US immigration and screening procedures?
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
"...objected to the invasiveness of the search, but conditions deteriorated and she was later jailed..."
WTF happened here?
Bob Stein, http://bobste.in
Bitch got lucky. Here's the case - http://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/o...
If that TSA agent had showed up, she'd probably be in jail for a while and now with a violent criminal record.
I think the judges understood that she was being a bitch and just because her case was dismissed didn't entitle her to a lottery winning. They effectively gave her the finger. I just don't see where they were out of line, she was out of line. System worked.
Don't forget about the sock-puppetry with telltale bad grammar.
He also have an awesome YouTube channel
Yeah asshole we totally believe that someone bothered to type out a tedious href tag and spell YouTube but they're not going to bother signing in. You're such a shameless prick.
There are several of us dealing with cre1mer in our own ways. I don't like it when people spam unrelated posts but there isn't much I can do about it. I prefer modding him down to nothing and then making sure people are aware that his one or two posts a day are spam. Then all the spam and shitposting can stay nested under his own -1 comments where nobody has to see them.
When he makes sockpuppets so he can get back to good karma everything becomes a mess... he posts dozens of posts a day all over the place.
It's not just the Slashdot abuse. When people were finally getting tired of him and noticed that he was posting affiliate links to things nobody was likely to actually want he accused them of being jealous and suggested several times that other people should join him in spamming slashdot so they can enjoy extra money as well
He hinted that he was working on a scraping tool to re-post old comments with links to amazon products. So yes if there was no spam he would probably be worse than his trolls.