FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: media@aclu.org
TAMPA, FL -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida today announced
that a federal judge has blocked mass pat-down searches at Buccaneer games,
stating that the public “has a compelling interest in preserving the
constitutional right to be free from unreasonable governmental intrusion.”
The court order follows a similar injunction issued by a state court judge in
October of last year and prohibits mass random searches of Tampa Buccaneers
patrons without individualized suspicion. In both rulings, the courts held that
the Fourth Amendment protects Americans from unreasonable searches such as those
being conducted at Raymond James Stadium, which is owned and operated by the
Tampa Sports Authority.
“This case is important because it involves being forced to give up a very
real liberty in the name of generalized fear,” said Rebecca Harrison Steele,
Director of the ACLU of Florida’s West Central office. “The government does not
have a blank check to suspend the constitutional rights of Americans.
Across-the-board pat-downs are a violation of each and every person's rights,
and we are happy that has been upheld by the court"
In his ruling, U.S. District Judge James Judge Whittemore wrote, "A
generalized fear of terrorism should not diminish the fundamental Fourth
Amendment protections envisioned by our Founding Fathers. Our Constitution
requires more"
Judge Whittemore also pointed to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruling
in Bourgeois v. Peters: "While the threat of terrorism is omnipresent, we cannot
use it as the basis for restricting the scope of the Fourth Amendment's protections in any large gathering of people. We cannot simply suspend or
restrict civil liberties until the War on Terror is over, because the War on
Terror is unlikely ever to be truly over. September 11, 2001, already a day of
immeasurable tragedy, cannot be the day liberty perished in this
country"
The suspicionless pat-downs at Buccaneers games came as a direct result of
the National Football League's (NFL) policy requiring security personnel to
physically pat-down every person entering the stadium during football games.
But, as the ACLU pointed out, the government can't search individuals without
individualized suspicion.
The case was brought by the ACLU of Florida on behalf of Gordon Johnston, a
teacher and Buccaneers fan who objected to the violation of his constitutional
right to be free from unreasonable searches.
Harrison Steele and Tampa ACLU cooperating attorney John Goldsmith of the law
firm of Trenam Kemker are lead attorneys for the case. They are assisted by ACLU
of Florida Legal Director Randall Marshall and Trenam Kemker lawyer Amy Drushal.
Today's injunction is online at:
http://www.aclufl.org/pdfs/Legal20PDfs/TSA.pdf
