Airport security tricky in court - Criminal case dropped to guard secrecy

Airport security tricky in court

Criminal case dropped to guard secrecy

HUGE LINK

Rebecca Carr - Cox Washington Bureau
Monday, May 24, 2004

"Washington --- Last fall, Miami prosecutors thought they had a solid case against a federal baggage screener who was caught on videotape stealing CDs from passengers' luggage.

Just one small problem: The defense would be allowed to question a key prosecution witness from the Transportation Security Administration about Miami International Airport's security and training of baggage screeners.

Fearing the testimony could put what the government calls Sensitive Security Information in the hands of terrorists, prosecutors dropped the charges.

U.S. District Court Judge Adalberto Jordan set the defendant free. He is now in Miami studying radiology.

The case reveals a growing tension between the public's right to know about a crime at one of the nation's busiest airports and the federal government's desire to protect sensitive security information from disclosure.

The federal government argues that even seemingly innocuous information about the nation's transportation systems could aid terrorists and other criminals in their plots. Critics disagree, saying that to cloak such information in secrecy undermines the public's ability to protect itself.

The Miami case is ''a rather shocking story,'' said Steven Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy.

''It sounds like TSA has confused ends and means. They are compromising security for the sake of secrecy,'' Aftergood said.

The critics have it all wrong, said Lauren Stover, the eastern field director for TSA public affairs based in Miami.

''Our agency does not like to hide under the SSI umbrella,'' Stover said."

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I stumbled across this here, while waiting for an appointment with a client. I did not want to register with the Austin American-Hatesmen, so I searched Google and found, what I think, is the original article, dated two day previous to the Hatesmen's running of the story.

The FAS Project On Government Secrecy information can be found here.

--WP