This is the best case for stopping lawsuits against watchful citizens that I've seen put forth.

Nothing can prevent a passenger who believes he has been wronged by the screening process from filing a lawsuit. What is outrageous is to hold good Samaritans liable simply for doing what any reasonable person observing suspicious activity should do. This is pure and simple intimidation.

In the interests of national security, Congress cannot allow this to happen. While the House has taken the initiative to insert protective language in a public transportation bill, that bill does not go far enough. Such protection needs to be comprehensive, extending to the public at large rather than just those using airplanes or other public transportation. (Obviously, such a law should not protect anyone whose motivation is based on personal profiling.)

The good Samaritan law in “Seinfeld” created a duty to act. In the real world, such a law would obviously fail judicial scrutiny. Not even in fighting the war on terrorism could a legal duty to report suspicious activities be imposed upon observers — although, one would hope, good citizens would feel a moral obligation to do so.

What can be legislated, however, is a good Samaritan federal law to protect anyone motivated to report concerns in good faith from suffering the consequences of civil liability for speaking up. We need to understand that it takes a collective effort to keep us safe, and we need to protect those who act with that in mind.

And let's remember what the folks targeted in the Flying Imams case believed they were seeing.

Witnesses described conduct that suggested something ominous might in fact be in the offing. The imams, the passengers reported, prayed loudly in the open terminal before boarding, sat in different seats on the plane from those assigned, positioned themselves near exits, asked for unneeded seatbelt extensions (which they then placed under their seats) and, most disturbingly, made anti-American comments.

Do we want to encourage or discourage the reporting of such unusual behavior on aircraft and in airports? While any single element of their behavior could be seen as innocent, taken together they should at least raise a red flag or two in the mind of even the most trusting, pro-Muslim passenger.

Posted by: Greg at 01:11 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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