The next time you get a parking ticket and stuff it in the glove compartment to potentially be forgotten and left upaid, remind yourself of the name: Albert Florence.
Mr. Florence was picked up by the New Jersey Highway Patrol in 2005 on a warrant for an unpaid fine, arrested, and spent two weeks in jail -- before the charges were dropped, since the police record of his alleged delinquency turned out to be incorrect. While in custody for the grave and society-threatening crime of not paying a fine, Mr. Florence was subjected to strip-searches in two different jails.
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5-4 ruling that the treatment of Mr. Florence was OK. They said law enforcement must have "substantial discretion", even if it means subjecting an individual to what some would consider the ultimate invasion of a human being's privacy -- for allegedly failing to pay a fine.
In an unrelated, but entirely related, development, we learned this week -- thanks to an investigation by the pesky folks at the ACLU -- that police departments all across the country are rather routinely tracking individuals' cell phones without going to the trouble to secure warrants for doing so.
With governing law, such as the decades-old Electronic Communications Privacy Act, hopelessly outdated in the face of rapid technology advances, local police departments are largely left to write their own rules when it comes to using our cell phones as surveillance devices. Or, to not bother writing any rules at all. According to the ACLU's research, it is not out of the question that, as you read this, the police could be using your mobile phone to keep track of your whereabouts.
As the New York Times pointed out, this is a reality that would seem more than a little inconsistent with the U.S. v. Jones Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that a drug suspect's rights had been violated when authorities placed a GPS tracking device on his car.
Let's get this straight: Local police departments are apparently tracking our cell phones at will, but placing a GPS tracker on a drug suspect's car is an "unreasonable search" -- as opposed to the apparently "reasonable" search of poor Mr. Florence's body while he was wrongfully incarcerated.
There are a lot of us in America who still would like to believe that woven through the Constitution and the Bill of Rights is a fundamental right to individual privacy. And I don't recall that we agreed to forfeit that right just because technology has outgrown the law or because the police need "substantial discretion" to make us take our clothes off.
Expecting the government to willingly constrain itself when it comes to violating our privacy is not just foolhardy; it defies everything we know about the very nature of government. Until privacy is restored as a fundamental American value and right that government is required to protect, rather than destroy, this erosion of our freedom -- and dignity -- will continue.
In short, if you don't pay your fines, or maybe even if you do, ditch the cell phone or prepare to take your clothes off.
Traffic violation ~ punishment, strip searched and jailed
Banks & Corporations stealing my tax dollars ~ punishment, every weekend on a their (our) yacht
Save our country and please vote for Gary Johnson! He will keep government out of your marriage, schools, food, drugs, phone calls, emails, and your pockets!
Honestly. My phone has my address book, my google and skype accounts, things LEO would need a warrant to search my computer for. Yet, they can just root through my smartphone with impunity...yeah, when our laws catch up to current technology, I'll consider banking through my phone.
Until then, they'll only know that I kind of suck at Angry Birds.
Please make my dream of a Paul/Johnson ticket come true so I can get out of this mess. I don't ask for much and you know it so help a guy out.
Love,
Obama
As a social conservative with some libertarian attitudes, he is a poor fit for the Libertarian Party.
Look folks. Its not Republicans vs Democrats, (49ers vs the Rams) its the POLICE STATE vs YOU the CItizen.
Strip Searches OK
Bladder Police OK (Urine Tests) OK
Free Speech or "Hate Speech" ? (depends on which "party" is in power)
Victimless Crime? The STATE is the victim. Seriously?
UFO secrecy? Don't even ask.
Fine print contracts ruled legal? OK
You MUST buy an insurance product from a PRIVATE CORPORATION?
"Star Chambers" who decides which "terrorists" live and which get a drone bomb?
War on Consciousness...oh wait...I mean war on "Drugs" that can't by patented?
Even the most hard core hObamo lovers have got to be taking a second look at what is happening here. Am I wrong?
Write in Gary Johnson or at least Ron Paul for president. Sheesh.
Where is the president on this issue?
My point is there seems to be little concern from the status quo.
10000 drones are ok to fly and spy.... TSA mistakes... Dept Homeland Security demanding to govern British citizens flying to Canada or Mexico?
Nothing I read today is too bizzare to be true anymore.
Orwell was an optimist... We need leaders that remember what rights are.