Supreme court rejects air travel ID challenge

The United States Supreme Court today rejected a challenge to the federal law that requires travelers to show identification before boarding planes.

The justices, without comment, let stand an appeals court ruling
against Libertarian activist and millionaire John Gilmore. Gilmore
wanted the court to force the federal government to disclose the
policy that requires passengers to produce identification.

Unless the regulations are made public, air travelers have no way to
determine if the regulations call for impermissible searches, Gilmore
said in court papers. The Justice Department has said that demanding
ID protects passengers' safety.

Link to AP item.

The case is Gilmore v. Gonzales, 06-211, and was filed by civil libertarian John Gilmore, co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. More about why he picked this fight with the TSA here: Link. (Thanks, Jacob Appelbaum)

Previously on BoingBoing:

  • Audio from John Gilmore's trial on right to travel without ID
  • Open hearing on constitutionality of air-travel ID