Outside of armed conflict zones, the use of lethal force is strictly limited by international law and, when it comes to U.S. citizens, the Constitution. Specifically, lethal force can be used only as a last resort against an imminent threat to life. Even in the context of an armed conflict against an armed group, the government may use lethal force only against individuals who are directly participating in hostilities against the U. S.
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Yesterday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued an order sending the (ACLU of PA) voter ID challenge back down to the lower court for further review.  The PA Supreme Court, which split 4-2, asked that the lower court review whether the state's new "voting only" IDs guarantee that no eligible voters will be disenfranchised in November.

Hopefully, on October 2, the lower court will clearly see the state has no such guarantee and will promptly overturn the law. 
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Born in the aftermath of the attacks on September 11, 2001, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is perhaps our most visible reminder of how intrusive security has become at our transportation centers.  Unfortunately, the TSA continues to embrace policies and procedures that have little to do with keeping us safe.  For example, take the (apparently not new) practice of randomly testing beverages purchased AFTER clearing the security checkpoint.  Or  | continue reading

With over 2.3 million men and women living behind bars, our imprisonment rate is the highest it’s ever been in U.S. history.   And yet, our criminal justice system has failed on every count: public safety, fairness and cost-effectiveness. 
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Those are the words of National Security Agency whistleblower William Binney from this excellent and very disturbing video on the government’s warrantless surveillance program from The New York Times website yesterday:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/23/opinion/the-national-security-agencys-domestic-spying-program.html
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The past month provided some prime examples of why we need to stay vigilant about new technology rapidly being adopted by law enforcement:

Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) use is expanding.
Fortunately, Maine is one of only two states that bars the retention of data for "non-hit" plates.
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For those of us concerned about privacy and surveillance the "Why Worry" question is especially infuriating.  Not only does it lazily condone the latest surveillance intrusion (ALPR's, by the way) but naively accepts the government's actions as righteous.
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Those kind enough to read my weekly blog posts understand that privacy is an issue I care about.  It's especially important because as Jay Staley writes:

One of the biggest problems with protecting privacy in the United States is that, almost alone in the advanced-industrial world, we do not have an overarching privacy law that codifies the basic privacy principles that are accepted around the world as the gold standard for protecting this human right. | continue reading