Your papers, please...

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Delivered-To: dfarber+ () ux13 sp cs cmu edu
Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2004 23:40:40 -0800
From: Kurt Albershardt <kurt () nv net>
Subject: Your papers, please...
To: dave () farber net

Not much tech involved, but perhaps still relevant for IP?


<http://www.washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20040222-103500-1117r.htm>

   Next week the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case to decide whether or 
not all Americans must have identification on them at all times. The case 
has been brought by a cowboy in Nevada who was asked to show ID while he 
was leaning against his pickup truck on the side of the road near his 
ranch. The police officer did not offer any specific reason why he demanded 
proof of identity. Having committed no crime, Dudley Hiibel, the cowboy, 
refused ? and was arrested. He was later convicted for "Delaying a Peace 
Officer." In America, still a free country, citizens should not be required 
to provide identification papers at any whim of the authorities.
   In the case at hand, Mr. Hiibel gave the arresting officer a chance to 
justify his request. But when asked why he demanded identification, the 
sheriff's deputy said only, "Because I'm investigating." When asked what he 
was investigating, the policeman responded with a wisecrack: "I'm 
investigating an investigation." The argument before the U.S. Supreme Court 
is whether requiring identification at any time is a violation of the 
Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures or 
an invasion of privacy by the government.
   In a 4-3 decision, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled against Mr. Hiibel, 
stating that the Nevada statute requiring identification during a police 
investigation "strikes a balance between constitutional protections of 
privacy and the need to protect police officers and the public." The 
argument is that police cannot rule out whether or not a stranger is a 
suspect in a crime until he is identified. In the dissent, Justice Deborah 
Agosti argues that merely knowing an individual's identity does not enhance 
safety. Regarding the Fourth Amendment, she explains, "Anonymity is 
encompassed within the expectation of privacy, a civil right." The Fifth 
Amendment also guarantees the right to remain silent, which can be 
construed as the right to guard one's identity.
   The cowboy-ID case is timely because of the momentum in the federal 
government to mandate various kinds of national identification cards. Even 
some conservatives, such as Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl, support the idea of 
so-called Social Security cards with biometric identifiers such as retina 
scans and electronic fingerprints. The Nevada high court's ruling notes 
that "the right to wander freely and anonymously, if we so choose, is a 
fundamental right of privacy in a democratic society." The openness of the 
prairie symbolizes this freedom. It would be a shame if cowboys were 
required to carry a driver's license to ride a horse while roaming the open 
range.

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