Lawsuit Filed on Subway Searches

We previously blogged about opposition to random searches in NYC subways; that opposition has ripened into a lawsuit.   Mark Godsey and I are former New Yorkers who have taken plenty of rides on subway; I for one would not want to be subjected to a suspicionless search on the subway.  But given the events in London, it is hard to differentiate subway searches from airport searches.  In both cases, there is a genuine danger, and the subway, while an indispensible part of living in the city, is not as open as a street or park (the subways used to be owned and operated by private corporations, and they charge a fare), and individuals can avoid the search the same way they can avoidn an airport search, by not going there.  [Jack Chin]