THE FREEDOM BEAT

SWAT GONE MADE

2009-07-15T17:39:00.001-04:00

Radley Balko, Reason - Late last month, Berwyn Heights, Maryland Mayor Cheye Calvo took the unusual step of filing a civil rights lawsuit against the police department of his own county. The suit stems from a 2008 SWAT team raid on Calvo's house that resulted in the shooting deaths of his two black Labrador retrievers. In pushing back against the abuse he suffered at the hands of the Prince

THINK OF WHAT WE'D FIND IF WE DITCHED THE FOURTH AMENDMENT ENTIRELY

2009-07-13T13:02:00.000-04:00

Gainesville Sun - A DUI checkpoint over the holiday weekend resulted in 10 people being arrested and more than 100 drivers being issued traffic citations.The Florida Highway Patrol arranged for the checkpoint to be set up in the 2500 block of Southwest 13th Street in Gainesville between 10 p. m. Friday until 2 a.m. Saturday. FHP Lt. Pat Riordan said that during that time, 1,131 vehicles were

COURT TELLS DC POLICE THEY CAN'T HAVE NEIGHBORHOOD CHECKPOINTS

2009-07-11T17:36:00.001-04:00

Washington Post - In a strongly worded opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit condemned the roadblocks which police used last summer in the city's Trinidad neighborhood in Northeast Washington. The checkpoints, which have not been used in about a year, were a response to a spate of shootings, including a triple homicide."It cannot be gainsaid that citizens have a right to drive

BUSH WIRETAPS NOT ONLY ILLEGAL; THEY DIDN'T FIND ANY TERRORISM

2009-07-11T16:07:00.001-04:00

NY Times - While the Bush administration had defended its program of wiretapping without warrants as a vital tool that saved lives, a new government review said the program's effectiveness in fighting terrorism was unclear. The report, mandated by Congress last year and produced by the inspectors general of five federal agencies, found that other intelligence tools used in assessing security

MASSACHUSETTS SUES TO END ANTI-GAY FEDERAL LAW ON MARRIAGE

2009-07-09T12:10:00.001-04:00

NY Times - The Massachusetts attorney general, Martha Coakley, sued the federal government to overturn a section of the law denying federal benefits to spouses in same-sex marriages. With the suit, Massachusetts becomes the first state to challenge the Defense of Marriage Act, which was passed by Congress in 1996 and prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex

OBAMA CLAIMS RIGHT TO KEEP PEOPLE IMPRISONED EVEN IF ACQUITTED

2009-07-09T11:47:00.002-04:00

Although the administration is theoretically talking about "terrorists," all it takes is for it to declare you one and it applies to you as well.Glenn Greenwald, Salon - Spencer Ackerman attended a Senate hearing at which the DOD's General Counsel, Jeh Johnson, testified. Johnson actually said that even for those detainees to whom the Obama administration deigns to give a real trial in a real

COURT UPHOLDS YANKEE SPECTATORS' RIGHT TO PEE

2009-07-07T15:19:00.000-04:00

NY Post - Yankee fans are now at liberty to go to the bathroom during the playing of "God Bless America" during the seventh-inning stretch, thanks to a settlement reached in Manhattan federal court.Signing off on the deal were the Yankees, the New York Civil Liberties Union and Queens resident Bradford Campeau-Laurion, who was thrown out of Yankee Stadium last year after trying to hit the head

SHREVEPORT DRIVER PULLED OVER FOR PRO GUN BUMPER STICKERS

2009-07-06T14:33:00.001-04:00

Don't Tase Me Bro' - According to Cedric Glover, mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana, his cops "have a power that . . . the President of these Unites States does not have": His cops can take away your rights.And would you like to guess which rights he has in mind?Just ask Shreveport resident Robert Baillio, who got pulled over for having two pro-gun bumper stickers on the back of his truck -- and had

PLAN TO SPY ON EVERY CAR ON AMERICAN ROADS

2009-07-01T14:51:00.001-04:00

Kansas City Star - The year is 2020 and the gasoline tax is history. In its place you get a monthly tax bill based on each mile you drove . . . tracked by a Global Positioning System device in your car and uploaded to a billing center. What once was science fiction is being field-tested by the University of Iowa to iron out the wrinkles should a by-the-mile road tax ever be enacted. . . The idea

VETERAN JOURNALIST ABUSED BY CUSTOM OFFICIAL

2009-07-01T14:44:00.001-04:00

Jeff Stein, CQ - A veteran American journalist returning from Latin America on Saturday was closely questioned by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent about where he went and whom he talked to. John Dinges, a former NPR managing editor for news and currently professor at Columbia University's School of Journalism, landed at Miami International Airport June 27 after visiting Venezuela and

BRITAIN DUMPS MANDATORY ID CARDS

2009-06-30T14:24:00.001-04:00

Press Association, UK - British citizens will never be forced to carry ID cards, Home Secretary Alan Johnson said. today. In his first major policy announcement as Home Secretary, Mr Johnson ditched a trial scheme that would have required some airport staff and pilots to carry the controversial cards. . . He also ruled out ever requiring the public to own a card. Previously, ministers said ID

FIRST INMATE TELLS ABOUT AMERICA'S SECRET PRISONS

2009-06-29T13:49:00.001-04:00

AMY GOODMAN: The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against Attorney General Eric Holder and the Federal Bureau of Prisons challenging the legality of two secretive prison units in Indiana and Illinois. The prisons, known as Communication Management Units, are designed to severely restrict prisoner communication with family members, the media and the outside world.The prisons were

LIBERALS PUSHING THOUGHT CRIME BILL

2009-06-28T00:27:00.001-04:00