[IP] Your papers, please...
Delivered-To: dfarber+@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2004 23:40:40 -0800
From: Kurt Albershardt <kurt@xxxxxx>
Subject: Your papers, please...
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Not much tech involved, but perhaps still relevant for IP?
<http://www.washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20040222-103500-1117r.htm>
Next week the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case to decide whether or
not all Americans must have identification on them at all times. The case
has been brought by a cowboy in Nevada who was asked to show ID while he
was leaning against his pickup truck on the side of the road near his
ranch. The police officer did not offer any specific reason why he demanded
proof of identity. Having committed no crime, Dudley Hiibel, the cowboy,
refused ? and was arrested. He was later convicted for "Delaying a Peace
Officer." In America, still a free country, citizens should not be required
to provide identification papers at any whim of the authorities.
In the case at hand, Mr. Hiibel gave the arresting officer a chance to
justify his request. But when asked why he demanded identification, the
sheriff's deputy said only, "Because I'm investigating." When asked what he
was investigating, the policeman responded with a wisecrack: "I'm
investigating an investigation." The argument before the U.S. Supreme Court
is whether requiring identification at any time is a violation of the
Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures or
an invasion of privacy by the government.
In a 4-3 decision, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled against Mr. Hiibel,
stating that the Nevada statute requiring identification during a police
investigation "strikes a balance between constitutional protections of
privacy and the need to protect police officers and the public." The
argument is that police cannot rule out whether or not a stranger is a
suspect in a crime until he is identified. In the dissent, Justice Deborah
Agosti argues that merely knowing an individual's identity does not enhance
safety. Regarding the Fourth Amendment, she explains, "Anonymity is
encompassed within the expectation of privacy, a civil right." The Fifth
Amendment also guarantees the right to remain silent, which can be
construed as the right to guard one's identity.
The cowboy-ID case is timely because of the momentum in the federal
government to mandate various kinds of national identification cards. Even
some conservatives, such as Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl, support the idea of
so-called Social Security cards with biometric identifiers such as retina
scans and electronic fingerprints. The Nevada high court's ruling notes
that "the right to wander freely and anonymously, if we so choose, is a
fundamental right of privacy in a democratic society." The openness of the
prairie symbolizes this freedom. It would be a shame if cowboys were
required to carry a driver's license to ride a horse while roaming the open
range.
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