Fergie's Tech Blog

John Gilmore Wants to Fly Without Showing ID

Nate Anderson writes on ARS Technica:

John Gilmore wants his day in court—the Supreme Court. Gilmore has waged a long legal battle against the government in an attempt to make them produce the regulation that requires airline passengers to show identification before boarding a plane. Because Gilmore refuses to do so, he does not fly, and has not since 2002. He also does not ride Amtrak or stay in most hotels. His stance even makes it difficult for him to enter the courthouses where his cases have been heard.

His court battle now goes before the highest court in the country, where a petition was filed by lawyers at Akin Gump. Supreme Court cases present a larger question that will be argued before the justices. In this case, the question is: "May the government keep secret a directive that is generally applicable to millions of passengers every day notwithstanding that it (i) has acknowledged both the directive's existence and its contents, and moreover (ii) has identified no special circumstance that nonetheless justifies secrecy."

posted by Fergie @ 8/17/2006 04:24:00 PM