CurtisLow
08-04-2008, 11:53 AM
PennDot Class-Action Lawsuit
July 23, 2008 - Update #1
This is the first step toward fighting to secure our rights to privacy against a very aggressive system that is determined to embroil us in a web of biometric technology.
For those of you who are not aware: L-1 Identity Solutions has already made it clear of their plans to incorporate biometrics in practically every facet of our lives. Of course, they believe this is a good thing. We all know that it is identity theft in the worst way. You can check out their website, if you haven't already at www.l1id.com.
I apologize for not getting this update out sooner. I have been engrossed in some heavy research on L-1, Viisage, biometrics, and especially the AAMVA. There is a lot of technical mumbo-jumbo to weed through as I move forward with many of the technical questions I know I will be subject to in the near future.
First, I am aggressively seeking out representation for this case. I have emailed ACLU to see how they want me to proceed and if they will represent us, but they are only one of many organizations that are available.
What is most important at this stage is to secure as many plaintiff's as possible. So, spreading the word of this lawsuit on every website you can will move the numbers up. I currently have 120 plaintiffs on the list. It is possible that we will have to fund some of this lawsuit, or maybe none. It all depends. So the more plaintiffs the better, and no one will be required to pay, I am sure we can raise what we need through donations if need be. Again, this is just a possibility.
I want to personally thank Bill Faust for generating approximately 50+ of these plaintiffs. I also want to thank Jim Compton for sending out over 300 emails to the AFTF members in Pennsylvania and putting up a blog on DailyPaul. This generated another 50+ plaintiffs. The other 15 plaintiffs came from my local Lancaster County Campaign for Liberty group. The more plaintiffs we have, the more teeth this lawsuit has, which in turn will create a lot more publicity. I have already received a call for an interview about the lawsuit, but I will be turning it down until things get off the ground.
I am looking to have a meeting with a specific attorney within the ACLU. He was away in Europe at the time I spoke with the ACLU office.
I spent over an hour going over various arguments of the case with Pam (in the Pittsburgh office) and it is then that I realized that this lawsuit will bring up more complicated arguments other than just proving a breach of our privacy. For instance, by law one cannot be forced to give up a "right" in order to enjoy another "right". Driving is still defined as a "privilege" because it is regulated, so arguing that driving is essential to our "right to travel" and our "pursuit of happiness" which makes it a "right" rather than a privilege will have to be argued also. This is opening up a whole new can of worms but one I am determined to win.
There are a few different scenarios as to how this lawsuit may move forward. I will be legally a Paralegal in 10 weeks. It is important at that point that I am careful with what I say, or how I answer questions, as I will not be able to give legal advice. Not that I could, this case is bigger than all of us.
One scenario will be that the attorney may want to file a motion for injunctive relief. Which basically asks the judge to order PennDot to stop immediately from collecting any more biometric data on Pennsylvania citizens. I am being told that these lawsuits can also go on for years with one motion being filed, only to be followed by a counter-motion. One after the other for as long as the other side wants to draw it out.
Our job is to keep pushing and get the word out for more plaintiffs to join us because the other scenario will be a huge push for publicity of this lawsuit so that we can put more pressure on the legislature before SB1220 (Senate "Anti-Real ID" Bill - coming up in the fall) comes to the floor for a vote. This bill is vital because it would hold PennDot's feet to the fire. This bill, if passed, would make it against the law for PennDot to hold any biometric data on any of us for the use of driving a vehicle or getting an ID card. It actually goes further by making it illegal for ANY state agency to require biometric data (unless you are convicted of a crime).
HB1351 was the House bill originated by Rep. Sam Rohrer. There were a handful of people who worked very hard to personally go to the capitol in Harrisburg to get as many Reps. to co-sponsor the bill as possible before it went to the floor for a vote. We managed to get 96 co-sponsors on the bill, but Rep. Thomas (from Philly) basically gutted the bill, made up a new bill, HB2537, and took out the words that would have held PennDot accountable for their FaceEXPLORER software. A debate ensued on the House floor as Rep. Rohrer tried to add an amendment to Thomas' bill that would have added the words back into the bill to stop PennDot - but the amendment didn't pass. The vote was 92-108. (Stay tuned for the link I will be sending to those who request it, of the video of this debate on the house floor. It hasn't been uploaded to the web yet, but it will be shortly.)
We have only 50 Senators. I would urge all of you to make phone calls or send emails to those Senators who are not onboard with SB1220 yet, to either co-sponsor it, or make sure to vote FOR it in the fall. If we can pass legislation to end PennDot's actions, we may be able to avoid a lengthy lawsuit, but we can rest assured that pressure from the lawsuit will have done its job.
There is more technical information available if anybody wants to email me for this. Those who are interested in learning more about this can go to Aaron Bolinger's website at www.nvcca.net and click on "documents" at the top. There is plenty of information there that can fill you in on details of the Viisage contract with PennDot and hearing information. Aaron Bolinger and Jim Compton have been instrumental in educating our legislature of the horrors of the Real ID.
I also have the correspondence that took place between Rep. Sam Rohrer and PennDot and also to the Governor. This is very informative reading concerning PennDot and what they are doing. I urge you to look at the hard work Sam has put forth for all of us. It has been made public and added to the House records. It is a PDF file of 48 pages. For those who request these letters, I will send them promptly. Amazing stuff.
You can also access the bills in this letter by going to: www.legis.state.pa.us and clicking on the Senate or House and use the "Find legislation by" at the top. Click on the radio button "Bill #" and your keywords would be "SB1220" or "HB2537" (Thomas' bill) or "HB1351" (Sam's original bill), etc.
Also, by request I will send the spreadsheet, of the 50 Senators, their phone numbers for their district offices, and who is already signed on to SB1220, if you want to help with moving along SB1220. This is our quickest, and best bet to end this invasion of our privacy.
Here is the Senate Bill for your convenience:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/PN/Public/btCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&sessYr=2007&sessInd=0&billBody=S&billTyp=B&billNbr=1220&pn=1673
July 23, 2008 - Update #1
This is the first step toward fighting to secure our rights to privacy against a very aggressive system that is determined to embroil us in a web of biometric technology.
For those of you who are not aware: L-1 Identity Solutions has already made it clear of their plans to incorporate biometrics in practically every facet of our lives. Of course, they believe this is a good thing. We all know that it is identity theft in the worst way. You can check out their website, if you haven't already at www.l1id.com.
I apologize for not getting this update out sooner. I have been engrossed in some heavy research on L-1, Viisage, biometrics, and especially the AAMVA. There is a lot of technical mumbo-jumbo to weed through as I move forward with many of the technical questions I know I will be subject to in the near future.
First, I am aggressively seeking out representation for this case. I have emailed ACLU to see how they want me to proceed and if they will represent us, but they are only one of many organizations that are available.
What is most important at this stage is to secure as many plaintiff's as possible. So, spreading the word of this lawsuit on every website you can will move the numbers up. I currently have 120 plaintiffs on the list. It is possible that we will have to fund some of this lawsuit, or maybe none. It all depends. So the more plaintiffs the better, and no one will be required to pay, I am sure we can raise what we need through donations if need be. Again, this is just a possibility.
I want to personally thank Bill Faust for generating approximately 50+ of these plaintiffs. I also want to thank Jim Compton for sending out over 300 emails to the AFTF members in Pennsylvania and putting up a blog on DailyPaul. This generated another 50+ plaintiffs. The other 15 plaintiffs came from my local Lancaster County Campaign for Liberty group. The more plaintiffs we have, the more teeth this lawsuit has, which in turn will create a lot more publicity. I have already received a call for an interview about the lawsuit, but I will be turning it down until things get off the ground.
I am looking to have a meeting with a specific attorney within the ACLU. He was away in Europe at the time I spoke with the ACLU office.
I spent over an hour going over various arguments of the case with Pam (in the Pittsburgh office) and it is then that I realized that this lawsuit will bring up more complicated arguments other than just proving a breach of our privacy. For instance, by law one cannot be forced to give up a "right" in order to enjoy another "right". Driving is still defined as a "privilege" because it is regulated, so arguing that driving is essential to our "right to travel" and our "pursuit of happiness" which makes it a "right" rather than a privilege will have to be argued also. This is opening up a whole new can of worms but one I am determined to win.
There are a few different scenarios as to how this lawsuit may move forward. I will be legally a Paralegal in 10 weeks. It is important at that point that I am careful with what I say, or how I answer questions, as I will not be able to give legal advice. Not that I could, this case is bigger than all of us.
One scenario will be that the attorney may want to file a motion for injunctive relief. Which basically asks the judge to order PennDot to stop immediately from collecting any more biometric data on Pennsylvania citizens. I am being told that these lawsuits can also go on for years with one motion being filed, only to be followed by a counter-motion. One after the other for as long as the other side wants to draw it out.
Our job is to keep pushing and get the word out for more plaintiffs to join us because the other scenario will be a huge push for publicity of this lawsuit so that we can put more pressure on the legislature before SB1220 (Senate "Anti-Real ID" Bill - coming up in the fall) comes to the floor for a vote. This bill is vital because it would hold PennDot's feet to the fire. This bill, if passed, would make it against the law for PennDot to hold any biometric data on any of us for the use of driving a vehicle or getting an ID card. It actually goes further by making it illegal for ANY state agency to require biometric data (unless you are convicted of a crime).
HB1351 was the House bill originated by Rep. Sam Rohrer. There were a handful of people who worked very hard to personally go to the capitol in Harrisburg to get as many Reps. to co-sponsor the bill as possible before it went to the floor for a vote. We managed to get 96 co-sponsors on the bill, but Rep. Thomas (from Philly) basically gutted the bill, made up a new bill, HB2537, and took out the words that would have held PennDot accountable for their FaceEXPLORER software. A debate ensued on the House floor as Rep. Rohrer tried to add an amendment to Thomas' bill that would have added the words back into the bill to stop PennDot - but the amendment didn't pass. The vote was 92-108. (Stay tuned for the link I will be sending to those who request it, of the video of this debate on the house floor. It hasn't been uploaded to the web yet, but it will be shortly.)
We have only 50 Senators. I would urge all of you to make phone calls or send emails to those Senators who are not onboard with SB1220 yet, to either co-sponsor it, or make sure to vote FOR it in the fall. If we can pass legislation to end PennDot's actions, we may be able to avoid a lengthy lawsuit, but we can rest assured that pressure from the lawsuit will have done its job.
There is more technical information available if anybody wants to email me for this. Those who are interested in learning more about this can go to Aaron Bolinger's website at www.nvcca.net and click on "documents" at the top. There is plenty of information there that can fill you in on details of the Viisage contract with PennDot and hearing information. Aaron Bolinger and Jim Compton have been instrumental in educating our legislature of the horrors of the Real ID.
I also have the correspondence that took place between Rep. Sam Rohrer and PennDot and also to the Governor. This is very informative reading concerning PennDot and what they are doing. I urge you to look at the hard work Sam has put forth for all of us. It has been made public and added to the House records. It is a PDF file of 48 pages. For those who request these letters, I will send them promptly. Amazing stuff.
You can also access the bills in this letter by going to: www.legis.state.pa.us and clicking on the Senate or House and use the "Find legislation by" at the top. Click on the radio button "Bill #" and your keywords would be "SB1220" or "HB2537" (Thomas' bill) or "HB1351" (Sam's original bill), etc.
Also, by request I will send the spreadsheet, of the 50 Senators, their phone numbers for their district offices, and who is already signed on to SB1220, if you want to help with moving along SB1220. This is our quickest, and best bet to end this invasion of our privacy.
Here is the Senate Bill for your convenience:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/PN/Public/btCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&sessYr=2007&sessInd=0&billBody=S&billTyp=B&billNbr=1220&pn=1673