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Jul 22, 2004 -
In response to a federal court decision inhibiting general police searches of protesters and restricting the practice of penning protesters in four-sided enclosures at the Republican National Convention, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced plans to appeal.
Though Judge Robert W. Sweet found that law enforcement’s use of pens during the massive antiwar demonstration on February 15, 2003 had caused "irreparable harm" to protesters’ First Amendment rights, he said police could still use the pens if protesters could move freely in and out of them. Reacting to the ruling, Leslie Cagan, an organizer for United for Peace and Justice, told the New York Times that the ruling was a step in the right direction, but she expressed concern that any use of the barriers would restrict protesters’ free speech.
According to the Times, Bloomberg raised concerns about "the ability to search backpacks, not just for this event but for New Year's Eve and other times," and he denounced the ban of searches "at big gatherings where common sense says if somebody wanted to be a terrorist they might very well show up." The court’s ruling does say the police could initiate a bag search if they gain information of a specific security threat.
