After thoroughly embarassing the TSA on the international stage:
…my battle in the courts continues. The brief summary for new readers is that my lawsuit against the nude body scanners and molestation pat-downs was dismissed from U.S. District Court by stretching a jurisdictional statute that requires challenges of TSA “orders” to be filed instead in the U.S. Courts of Appeals. I challenged the constitutionality of this (the result of which would abridge my right to a jury trial, discovery, witnesses, etc.) with an appeal, which was rejected by the 11th Circuit who suggested that I could file in a Court of Appeals and ask the Court of Appeals to order a District Court to hear the case. The absurdity of the idea that I can’t file in one court but can file in another court only to be referred back to that original court notwithstanding, as they wish: the motion I filed today asks the court to do just that.
Of course, there are wrinkes. To start, the court doesn’t have to approve my request. The notion of asking a court for “permission” to challenge my government is repulsive — I demand my challenge as of right! But, if asking nicely gets this issue resolved faster than a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court would, so be it. The second wrinkle is that the TSA, after essentially winning the appeal, in a highly unusual move filed its own motion, basically saying, “No you’ve got it wrong. You were right to deny him his day in court, but wrong to suggest you can give him a day in court by ordering a District Court to hear it.”
So, now pending before the court is the government’s motion to change its decision to omit the part about me being able to get back to District Court “the long way,” as well as my cross-motion, which says, essentially, that if the court agrees with the government, my right to due process is gone. Therefore, if the court wants to grant the government’s motion, it must declare the resulting outcome unconstitutional and send me to District Court. And, if the court denies the motion, please transfer the case to the Court of Appeals and then order a District Court hearing. Either way, you may have noticed that I’m a fan of being heard in District Court. 😉
Corbett v. US – TSA Motion for Reconsideration
Corbett v. US – Corbett Motion for Reconsideration
Professional Troublemaker ® 
LOL – your filings are hot potatoes that nobody wants to be holding. Our executive and legislative branches of our government are either evil or spineless – or a combination thereof. I would expect the same in the judicial branch.
Keep us informed.
Jon, looks like you aren’t the only one keeping the FOIA-crats hopping and scampering on TSA matters:
http://www.infowars.com/bob-barr-files-lawsuit-against-tsa-over-drudge-controversy
Persoanl radiation dosimeters (gives real-time radiation exposure)
http://www.dose-gard.com/
Radiation film badges (wear the badge and send in to be read)
http://www.sierradosimetry.com/
Radiation exposure information:
http://www.remm.nlm.gov/civilian.htm
WTF is this about? chttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303863404577281483630937016.html
ANYONE can pay $100 and get through security. ANYONE. Including the terrorists. How is this supposed to make us safer?
That’s extortion money for mafia protection, only if it were really the mafia, you would actually get protection.
Jon, can you get any help from LIbertyguard.org? This has become a full time job for you.
lol it’s not so bad 🙂 I’d estimate my time spent at about 200 hours per year… that’s only a tenth of a full-time job 😉
Regarding legal assistance, it seems that most organizations that want to fight the TSA have their own suits going. Besides, I hate working with lawyers. Doing it myself means I get to write creative motions like this one, whereas a lawyer might have gone a completely different route. Since there are “real” lawyers already in the Courts of Appeals fighting nearly the same case as mine for their clients, going my own route means another possible path to victory.
You are a patriot and a hero in my book. I love when folks like you realize that there is no “secret knowledge” that makes court proceedings impenetrable for nonlawers. Tedious, yes, but not impossible. Good luck.
Thank you! 🙂
Not sure if you saw this, but this made me absolutely sick to death!!!
I don’t know what is worse – TSA doing this to a kid or the parents allowing it. Is seeing Mickey Mouse so damn important that it’s okay to let a stranger put his hands all over your kid?!?
I said something similar when I first saw this. I wouldn’t have ended up in Disney, I’d have ended up in jail. I don’t care WHO you think you are, or who you think you’re saving from the big bad toddler….putting your hands on my kid and scare them, especially for such a bullshit reason as this, and you’re asking for trouble.
Thanks for your site. I travel frequently for work and opt out across the country. My home base hasn’t had any of the upgraded machines until two weeks ago. I opted out and TSA freaked! I was harassed by all the agents for opting out. They have the new wave technology but I’m not sure exactly what it is. Do you have more info regarding it? I’m going to continue to optout just to make a point. I consider it a peaceful protest. You should sell OPTOUT Tshirts to raise money!
I have a ton of information. 😉 Depends what you’re looking for.
Have you considered pressing them on Constitutional issues, too? The entire process is a violation of the Fourth Amendment, and the checkpoints themselves violate the Fifth Amendment.
My lawsuit is based in the Fourth Amendment 🙂 The battle that the checkpoints themselves violate the Fifth Amendment has been fought decades ago and lost.
–Jon
Decades ago the checkpoints were run by private organizations, though. Now that they are run by the government, the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment should apply and the government should pay the private property owners for the use of the area.
I’m not sure that all airports are the same way, but the airport here where I live is privately owned. For the government to come in and take over part of that space to use for their business, that would require that the compensate the property owner. It seems it is the other way around, though, as TSA is charging the property owner a fee.
Jon there was a Supreme Court case decided today that *could* have implications for citizens suing TSA.
A couple suing the EPA which classified some of their property as wetlands heard from the court that they had the right to “prompt judicial review.” The EPA tried to block their “quick access” to the courts. The outcome is being intrepreted that the EPA “is not a law unto itself.”
http://my.earthlink.net/article/us?guid=20120321/d918f477-5b9f-42b8-a090-f90315d9a872
So there are scanned copies of his “lawsuit” againt TSA. But if you go through and read them in the “lawsuit” it plainly stated TSA Transportation Safety Administration. Yes the same initals and almost the same name but any idiot knows that secuirty at the airport is Transportation Secuirty Admin, not safety. So he might have sued TSA but not the TSA that makes you take your shoes off. Do you really believe that this guy got a copy of the images off the body scanner? really? The things some people will do to get thier 15 minutes of fame. What you should really be filming is the invasive pat down like the guy did in San Diego because he opted out of the body scanner. Youre not a real man sewing a pocket on your shirt youd be a real man getting your juck touched by TSA.
I can’t tell if you’re for real or just joking. I’d be a real man for getting my junk touched by the TSA? Just as a woman would be a real woman for getting raped and “just taking it” without making it a big deal?
I looked through my documents and see no mention of Transportation “Safety” Administration. The named plaintiff in my new suit is “Transportation Security Administration.” IOW, I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Corbett v. US – TSA Motion for Reconsideration
Open it and read it for yourself right in the introduction it plainly states TSA Transportation Saftey Admin.
Dont even try to compare getting a pat down at the airport to being raped, not even close to the same thing. That makes me think you are ignorant and inconsiderate.
People forget why TSA is here.
Ive been patted down by the tsa and ive been through the body scanner. I go through the process once a week 50 weeks out of the year. I understand that the thought of a full body xray is scary but you have the option to not go through it. Also knowing that they perform these types of searches at the airport you have to option to choose a different mode of transportation. Nobody is forcing you to get a pat down or go through the body scanner. You imply consent to be searched when you enter the check point. You know when you go to the airport that they screen 100 percent of bags and passengers so why do you act all surprise when you get there and you have to be screened.
haha after an extensive search, I finally found the mistake… in THE GOVERNMENT’S DOCUMENT. The motion paper with the mistake was their motion, not mine.
When I get to an airport and I’m asked to be sexually abused in order to obtain access to the sterile area, my emotion is outrage, not surprise. Try not to confuse the two. My Fourth Amendment rights are never waived, and certainly not “impliedly” simply because I wish to engage in interstate travel.
Justsumgirl, I am amazed that you as an American find this acceptable. Maybe you have no concept of what this country was founded to be and this absolutely goes too far. The TSA is a moronic security company that can be easily defeated. The simple fact is YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE TO UNDER GO SUCH AN INVASIVE SEARCH TO TRAVEL, look I face the possibility of never coming home from work daily, I could be shot, I could get into an accident. (oh wait we all do) So what’s the fear of dying about? Private security is much more effincent and can be fire easily if they mess up. They at least have customer service abilities!
By complaining online to each other will not solve anything. We must change the system how TSA hiring people. Right now TSA has a turnover rate of 35% each year. Each day they hiring new people to replace others that went, you know where. TSA’s requirements’ for the job are: 1 year of experience as security guard or GED. So what kind of service can you expect from these people? TSA isn’t going away. Right now they are at airports, trains buses and highways. What can we do? We must demand from our elected officials in Congress to force TSA change their hiring requirements and hire employees with at least t 2 years of college or military service
Go on internet, search for any online petition and ask your friends and neighbors to join your petition. You don’t need many, 3-5 people of your family and friends will be fine.
Here is the link to find your representative in Congress. This is how you can make a difference for your country http://www.contactingthecongress.org/