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New York City Subway Bag Searches A Federal Case CBS New York/John Slattery | November 1 2005 (CBS) NEW YORK New York City officials say random bag searches in the subways help keep New Yorkers safe. But civil liberties lawyers say the searches do nothing to deter terrorism, and they violate civil rights. The disagreement spilled over into federal court on Monday where U.S. District Judge Richard Berman began hearing evidence in the case. The suit was brought by five plaintiffs who were joined by the New York Civil Liberties Union. One of the plaintiffs, Brendan McWade, told reporters outside Federal Court in Manhattan, the bag search is a violation of his rights. "In a nutshelll, it gives the illusion of safety at the expense of our privacy." Another plaintiff, Joe Gehring said, "What's wrong with it is we don't live in a totalitarian society." New York City's searches began after deadly terrorist bombings in London's subway system in July. The NYCLU says its own survey of 5,500 subway turnstile entrances from August 25th to September 16th found a total of 34 searches. NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman says the city's search policy is a charade, adding the search program in the 468 subway stations serving 26 train lines and millions of passengers "has no meaningful value." "This is a policy to make people feel better when it actually fails to make them safer," she says. The city maintains that the mere presence of a random search program is a valuable tool to thwart terrorists who prefer to target vulnerable areas with a low police presence. One subway rider, Ron Yudin, firmly agrees. "You have to search bags for the safety of everyone who takes the subway,” Yudin says. “Has to be done? Has to be done." But another rider, Llewelyn Jones, sees the bag search as an intrusion. "It's an invasion of privacy,” Jones says. “You should have the right whether or not you want your bag searched." City lawyers have noted that an al-Qaida training manual advising terrorists to avoid police checkpoints gives the city some justification for its random searches of bags entering the subway system. One plaintiff compared the subway to a public sidewalk, saying, "I've paid to use the subway with my taxes and my MetroCard. I don't believe the city has the right to inspect my bag on a public conveyance." Evidence and testimony in the case is expected to take two to three days. |
