Tuesday - January 18, 2011

SCOTUS: TSA is above the law?

[The] Supreme Court without comment refused on Tuesday to let Revell sue Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police for arresting him on illegal possession of a firearm in New Jersey and for not returning his gun and ammunition to him for more than three years.

Missing a plane connection cost Utah gun owner Greg Revell 10 days in jail after he was stranded in New Jersey with an unloaded firearm he had legally checked with his luggage in Salt Lake City.
...
Revell was flying from Salt Lake City to Allentown, Pa., on March 31, 2005, with connections in Minneapolis and Newark, N.J. He had checked his Utah-licensed gun and ammunition with his luggage in Salt Lake City and asked airport officials to deliver them both with his luggage in Allentown.

But the flight from Minneapolis to Newark was late, so Revell missed his connection to Allentown. The airline wanted to bus its passengers to Allentown, but Revell realized that his luggage had not made it onto the bus and got off. After finding his luggage had been given a final destination of Newark by mistake, Revell missed the bus. He collected his luggage, including his gun and ammunition, and decided to wait in a nearby hotel with his stuff until the next flight in the morning.

When Revell tried to check in for the morning flight, he again informed the airline officials about his gun and ammunition to have them checked through to Allentown. He was reported to the TSA, and then arrested by Port Authority police for having a gun in New Jersey without a New Jersey license. [ Drew: Newark to Allentown is a 75 minute drive along Route 78. The connecting flight from Newark to Lehigh Valley International Airport in Allentown couldn’t be 30 minutes by air. NJ is a small state, only an hour wide by car or bus. ]

He spent 10 days in several different jails before posting bail. Police dropped the charges a few months later. But his gun and ammunition were not returned to him until 2008.

Revell said he should not have been arrested because federal law allows licensed gun owners to take their weapons through any state as long as they are unloaded and not readily accessible to people. He said it was not his fault the airline stranded him in New Jersey by making him miss his flight and routing his luggage to the wrong destination.

Prosecutors said it doesn’t matter whose fault it was: Revell was arrested in New Jersey with a readily accessible gun in his possession without a New Jersey license.

Lower courts have sympathized with Revell but refused to let him sue the police.

“We recognize that he had been placed in a difficult situation through no fault of his own,” wrote Judge Kent A. Jordan of the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. However, the law “clearly requires the traveler to part ways with his weapon and ammunition during travel; it does not address this type of interrupted journey or what the traveler is to do in this situation.”

Once more we see a case where the law has glaring holes in it, and nothing has been done to close them. No provision is made for interrupted travel, which is short sighted. If you are driving a long distance, say from Florida to Maine, it’s too much to do in one day. So you’re going to stay at a hotel somewhere along the way. If the airlines, trains, or buses are running behind, then as we see in this case, you can get stranded for a day or a night somewhere. As we saw in the Brian Aitkens case, sometimes you need to stop somewhere partway through the trip. Concerns over the safety of one’s possessions is not addressed either: theft of baggage items is rampant in many airports, and taking your luggage out of the system temporarily seems to be the responsible approach. The concept of “parting company with” or “ready access” to your guns is a load of crap too: it is perfectly legal to drive across NJ with a legal unloaded firearm in a locked case right on your lap, the keys in your hand, and a box of ammo on the seat next to you. Just don’t stop anywhere in the state to get a meal, take a bathroom break, or have a nap. Which is garbage. The Port Authority cops knew this, and that’s why they dropped charges against him. AFTER they hassled the shit out of this guy by putting him in jail after jail for a week and a half. Then they “forgot” to return his property to him for more than three years? No, this is a deliberate form of harassment, or a kind of punishment by attainder without due process. He had every right to sue. His guilt or innocence of the charges is not germane*, since the cops dropped the charges. No charges? Then return his property post-haste.

But no court in the land will allow Revell to sue the police agency involved. So they can take forever to return his property (gun) if and when they feel like it. And that’s wrong. But in denying Revell, Big Government in the guise of the US Supreme Court has placed this group above the reach of the law. At least out of the reach of the common muck like us.

Let’s not look at the NY/NJ Port Authority right now, as they are seemingly a nation and a government within our nation and it’s governments. Not only are they a business, they are a business with a monopoly, their own personal union, and their own personal army to enforce whatever rules they feel like making. Corrupt to the bone too. A real blight on America IMO.

Posted by Drew458     on 01/18/2011 at 01:12 PM   
Filed Under: • Guns and Gun Control •  
• Comments (3) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

DISCLAIMER

THE SERVICES AND MATERIALS ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE HOSTS OF THIS SITE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICE OR ANY MATERIALS.

Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

1. Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
2. Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
3. Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:
4. Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere

It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

THE INFORMATION AND OTHER CONTENTS OF THIS WEBSITE ARE DESIGNED TO COMPLY WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THIS WEBSITE SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ALL PARTIES IRREVOCABLY SUBMIT TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE AMERICAN COURTS. IF ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE IS CONSTRUED AS BEING CONTRARY TO THE LAWS APPLICABLE IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY, THEN THIS WEBSITE IS NOT INTENDED TO BE ACCESSED BY PERSONS FROM THAT COUNTRY AND ANY PERSONS WHO ARE SUBJECT TO SUCH LAWS SHALL NOT BE ENTITLED TO USE OUR SERVICES UNLESS THEY CAN SATISFY US THAT SUCH USE WOULD BE LAWFUL.

Copyright © 2004-2015 Domain Owner