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We're told that random sobriety checkpoints used to identify and catch "drunk drivers" make the roads safer -- but there's little, if any, hard data to What we do have is an attempt to correlate the number of people arrested for driving with at least some alcohol in their bloodstream (no matter how little) with a reduction in alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities. That's quite a different thing. In fact, the practice of herding drivers like cattle through these "checkpoints" hasn't put much of a dent in the total number of drunk driving deaths that occur annually in the U.S. Depending...

High-Tech Cards Are Designed to Bolster Security Federal officials are developing government-wide identification card standards for federal employees and contractors to prevent terrorists, criminals and other unauthorized people from getting into government buildings and computer systems. The effort, known as the Personal Identity Verification Project, stems from a homeland security-related presidential directive and is being managed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a Commerce Department agency with offices in Gaithersburg. In his Aug. 27 directive, President Bush said that "wide variations in the quality and security of forms of identification used to gain access to secure federal...

HOMELAND INSECURITY Patriot Act II – is it a prudent step to stem terrorist activity in the U.S. and protect the homeland, or a Draconian measure designed to strip the last vestiges of freedom from the American landscape? Such is the question increasingly on the minds of Internet users, many of whom come down squarely on the side of legal experts who warn of the legislation's danger. Though an actual bill to further expand federal law-enforcement powers has not been introduced, activists for months have communicated online about what they see as potential Nazi-like developments. The first USA Patriot Act...

"Achtung! Your Passport, Bitte" By Charlotte Iserbyt October 14, 2004 Does an article in The New York Times 10/11/04 entitled "Congress Close to Establishing Rules for Drivers' Licenses", by Matthew L. Wald , have anything to do with the Bush Administration's hiring of ex-KGB Chiefs Primakov (also former President of Russia and close associate of Saddam Hussein) and Karpov to work in the Office of Information Awareness (DARPA) to help in designing an internal passport, about which I have written several times? Please click on "Articles" on my website www.deliberatedumbingdown.com for complete documentation regarding the shocking possiblity (probability)!!!!!! that the...

The U.S. Department of Justice has asked an appellate court to keep its arguments secret for a case in which privacy advocate John Gilmore is challenging federal requirements to show identification before boarding an airplane.

A lot of people want to know why I went all the way to the Supreme Court rather than give my name to a policeman. "What's so important about that?" they ask. "What's the big principle at stake?" And last week, when the Supreme Court ruled against me, maybe some thought I was foolish to have done it. But I still think I did the right thing and that there were some issues that had to be decided. The story began May 21, 2000, when I was on a rural road near my ranch in Winnemucca, Nev. My daughter and...

Cooperate, Or Else! Complicating your right to remain silent Timothy Lynch This week the Supreme Court ruled that a person can lose his liberty for declining to respond to a police officer's questions. Nevada rancher Dudley Hiibel was jailed for refusing to identify himself to a patrolman. On first blush, this legal precedent may seem to be a rather petty matter, but it is a travesty. To fully grasp the implications of the Hiibel v. Sixth District Court ruling, one must take a step back and see how this precedent fits into the broader legal picture. The main problem is...

The high court chips away another right In a little-noticed decision this week, the Supreme Court ruled that it is illegal to withhold your name when you are stopped by the police. The ruling held that police can demand a name only on the basis of "reasonable suspicion" but that failure to comply can lead to arrest. To many, that may seem fair and sensible, especially in the wake of 9/11. But for others, it is yet another chip taken out of our rights and freedoms. In minority communities, where cops often are feared, it has raised quite a few...

A lot of people want to know why I went all the way to the Supreme Court rather than give my name to a policeman. "What's so important about that?" they ask. "What's the big principle at stake?" And last week, when the Supreme Court ruled against me, maybe some thought I was foolish to have done it. But I still think I did the right thing and that there were some issues that had to be decided.

Silence Can Be Turned Into Criminal OffenseJune 21, 2004 abc.com | KABC–TV | Los Angeles  http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/news/062104_nw_criminal_offense.htmlOne lawyer says the government will now be able to "turn a person's silence into a criminal offense." A sharply-divided Supreme Court has ruled five-to-four that Americans have no constitutional right to keep quiet when police ask for their names. Privacy rights advocates say the ruling essentially opens a can of worms, forcing people who haven't done anything wrong to give information that can be used in broad data searches. The head of the Electronic Privacy Information Center says the modern age means police get...

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court ruled Monday that people do not have a constitutional right to refuse to tell police their names.</p> <p>The 5-4 decision frees the government to arrest and punish people who won't cooperate by revealing their identity.</p>

Court: No Right to Keep Names From Police 3 minutes ago By GINA HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled Monday that people do not have a constitutional right to refuse to tell police their names. The 5-4 decision frees the government to arrest and punish people who won't cooperate by revealing their identity. The decision, reached by a divided court, was a defeat for privacy rights advocates who argued that the government could use this power to force people who have done nothing wrong to submit to fingerprinting or divulge more personal information. Police, meanwhile, had...

Des Moines, March 3, 2004 - Whether you knew it or not, thousands of air travelers have been on a terror watch list by the government, even before 9-11. People considered a threat to security are placed on a no-fly list meaning they're barred from boarding a plane. But there's a problem security guards are also stopping people with names "similar" to those on the list. Dave Levy flys a lot and experienced some delays on one of his recent flights. It began at the Des Moines airport, he ended up with about 20-minute delay to get a boarding pass...

Some U.S. Supreme Court justices Monday appeared to scoff at a Nevada man's claim that he should not be required to give his name to police. Mr. Hiibel was not even in his motor vehicle. He was jailed for no more than stubbornness and silence. If police can demand our ID by the side of a public road, what about in our backyards ... or in our bedrooms?

Court Opens Door To Searches Without Warrants UPDATED: 4:27 PM CST March 29, 2004 NEW ORLEANS -- It's a groundbreaking court decision that legal experts say will affect everyone: Police officers in Louisiana no longer need a search or arrest warrant to conduct a brief search of your home or business. Leaders in law enforcement say it will keep officers safe, but others argue it's a privilege that could be abused. The decision in United States v. Kelly Gould, No. 0230629cr0, was made March 24 by the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. The ruling stems from a lawsuit...

Some U.S. Supreme Court justices Monday appeared to scoff at a Nevada man's claim that he should not be required to give his name to police. "I cannot imagine any responsible citizen objecting to giving his name," said law-and-order Justice Antonin Scalia. "The exercise of a constitutional right should not be incriminating," replied Robert Dolan, a deputy state public defender from Winnemucca. In 2000, Northern Nevada cattle rancher Larry Hiibel, standing beside his parked truck, was approached by a Humboldt County deputy. The officer asked Mr. Hiibel for proof of identification 11 separate times; in each instance Mr. Hiibel refused,...

WASHINGTON -- Do you have to tell the police your name? Depending on how the Supreme Court rules, the answer could be the difference between arrest and freedom. The justices heard argument Monday in a first-of-its kind case that asks whether people can be punished for refusing to identify themselves. The court took up the appeal of a Nevada cattle rancher who was arrested after he told a deputy he had done nothing wrong and didn't have to reveal his name or show an ID during an encounter on a rural road four years ago. Larry "Dudley" Hiibel, 59, was...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Do you have to tell the police your name? Depending on how the Supreme Court rules in a case before it Monday, the answer could be the difference between arrest and freedom. The court took up the appeal of a Nevada cattle rancher who was arrested after he told a deputy that he had done nothing wrong and didn't have to reveal his name or show an ID during an encounter on a rural highway four years ago. Larry Hiibel, 59, was prosecuted under a state statute that requires people to identify themselves to the police if...

WASHINGTON - (KRT) - If a Nevada sheriff's deputy had arrested Larry Hiibel, read him his rights and then tried to question him, Hiibel would have had a clear constitutional right to keep his mouth shut. That's what the Fifth Amendment is all about. But the Supreme Court struggled Monday to determine whether Hiibel should have had the same rights on May 21, 2000, when he refused to identify himself to officers who were investigating a possible domestic dispute. Responding to an emergency call reporting that a man was beating a woman in a red and silver pickup, the sheriff's...

Today: March 19, 2004 at 11:16:41 PST Nevada rancher at heart of court fight ID law has national implications By Suzanne Struglinski <suzanne@lasvegassun.com>LAS VEGAS SUNWASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Monday will begin examining a Nevada law that requires people to identify themselves to police upon request even if they have done nothing wrong. The case stems from the arrest of Larry "Dudley" Hiibel, a Northern Nevadan who refused to give his name to a deputy sheriff. On May 21, 2000, Humboldt County Sheriff Deputy Lee Dove got a call that someone saw another person hitting a female passenger in...