She wasn't arrested for a refusing a patdown. She was arrested for being belligerent.
That still does not make the TSA policy any less clear or enforced. Once you hand over your driver's license and boarding pass and you pass through the little gate inside the checkpoint, you have passed the point of no return.
According to the law, and TSA policy, you cannot refuse to complete the screening process. Note: I said complete the process. You do have the right to say that you will not subject yourself to A, B, or C, but there is no going backwards. You have to make a choice.
Failure to comply and attempts to leave the screening area—even to leave the airport—are offenses that can allow you to be arrested. I know this personally. I did choose the pat down and crotch grab instead of the 3D porno-image machine.
Note: I wholly disagree with the practice, but the fact they charged her with disorderly conduct is because they did not want to charge her with the other offense.
That is strategic on the part of the TSA. If she had been arrested for failure to comply with the screening or leaving quietly, there could be a court case. The TSA could be forced to hand over data under subpoena. They could lose and precedence would be established. When this case goes to trial she will be surprised that the screening measures will have practically nothing to do with her case, and the judge will more than likely not allow it to be presented as evidence, nor will the judge allow the TSA to be forced to hand over data and anything, and the whole thing might have everything to do with disorderly conduct. Basically, her court case will be about her behavior, and the airport and TSA will be irrelevant.
It's the same reason the IRS will usually choose to settle instead of going full on in court if they think they even have the smallest chance of losing. It is to deny the citizenry precedence in law to allow us to fight them effectively through the courts.
Don't be fooled because of the way she was charged. What caused the whole situation is that she did not want pornographic (that which can be considered obscene) images of her children and did not want her children touched and groped by another person. She had no choices her according to TSA policy and was backed into a corner. Golly jee willickers, I can't possibly understand why she blew her top and got arrested for "disorderly conduct"! You back anybody into a corner with zero options and that is what you get. Especially when they feel their children are being harmed.
Posted via email from PARKXVI | Comment »
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