A federal judge ruled on Friday it was constitutional for police to randomly search riders' bags on the New York City subway to deter a terrorist attack.The NYCLU never had a chance of winning this suit because random bag searches were always a reasonable precaution for interdicting a potential terror plot against the subway system.
U.S. District Judge Richard Berman ruled the searches were an effective and appropriate means to fight terrorism.
"The need for implementing counter-terrorism measures is indisputable, pressing, on-going and evolving," Berman wrote.
In a statement, Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised the ruling, calling bag searches a "reasonable precaution" that police would continue to take.
Random bag searches began on July 22 after a second set of bomb attacks on London's transit system.
The New York Civil Liberties Union sued the city and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly shortly afterward, calling the policy of searching thousands of riders a day without any suspicion of wrongdoing unconstitutional.
UPDATE: 12/3/2005:
Others blogging the NYCLU defeat and their call for an immediate appeal of the decision: Stop the ACLU, Sister Toldjah, Is It Just Me?, The Political Pit Bull, The Jawa Report, and Common Sense Runs Wild
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