TSA Dodges Lawsuit, and the Terminal Groping Continues

Citing lack of jurisdiction, a federal court has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the Transportation Security Administrations airport security screening policy of requiring passengers to either undergo see-all scans or submit to aggressive pat-downs in which TSA agents may go so far as to reach inside a travelers pants.

U.S. District Court Judge Henry H. Kennedy Jr. cited a secret TSA order requiring that the D.C. Court of Appeals hear any reviews of agency orders. Insisting that it contains sensitive security information, the government has yet to make public the order embodying the TSA enhanced screening procedures.

The Rutherford Institute, which filed the suit on Fourth Amendment grounds, argued that Americans do not shed their privacy rights when entering an airport or boarding a plane.

Other TSA critics, including U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, have proposed that airlines, not the government, should assume responsibility for their security.

Following the district court ruling, a passenger was arrested at Phoenixs Sky Harbor Airport for allegedly grabbing the breast of a TSA screener. The passenger, who expressed frustration over the weekly groping she received as a business traveler, denied the TSA charges.

Rutherford, which represented four other passengers in its suit, is considering an appeal of Judge Kennedys nondecision.