Judge: NYPD Surveilling Muslims in New Jersey Did Not Violate Civil Rights

[Revmitchell]

A judge in Newark, New Jersey, dismissed a lawsuit against the New York City Police Department for having spied on Muslim Americans at mosques, restaurants, and schools. The judge found that spying on individuals for their Muslim faith was a logical step to take in uncovering terrorist plots by Islamic extremists.

“The police could not have monitored New Jersey for Muslim terrorist activities without monitoring the Muslim community itself," wrote U.S. District Judge William Martini in his opinion dismissing the lawsuit. The lawsuit, a result of a series of Associated Press articles uncovering the detailed surveillance of Muslim communities in the United States, alleged that the monitoring of groups based on their religious affiliation violated the civil rights of those being monitored. Judge Martini dismissed the idea that discrimination fueled the surveillance, instead suggesting that "the more likely explanation for the surveillance was to locate budding terrorist conspiracies."

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Govern...ms-In-New-Jersey-Did-Not-Violate-Civil-Rights

 

[Don]

Hmmm....

As much as I agree with this decision, because I don't see it as discrimination....

...it does open the door for suveilling of Christian "fundamentalist" groups "to locate budding domestic terrorist conspiracies"....

 

[JohnDeereFan]

As much as I believe Islam (and, by extension, Muslims) present a grave danger to us and our republic and way of life, if I'm going to be consistent, then I guess I have to say I disagree with the surveillance.

 

[Gina B]

Here's where common sense kicks in - and black and white rules just don't work.

I'd be the last to sue in a situation like the one above. It stinks, but sometimes logic says that you can't do the job without breaking some rules. It is what it is.

IE if I'm living in a certain area and the police are looking for someone who just committed a crime in a certain area and I look just like that person and they end up throwing me against a wall and holding me until they figure out their mistake, that was a mistake and a logical one. That made sense. If I look nothing like that person and they were "fair" and did that to x number of people, even if they didn't fit the profile, that would just be plain old stupid and I'd have a logical reason to be ticked.

Somewhere, we have to realize that not everything is going to be fair to all or work out perfect. Even in the bible, we seen examples where, for example, a lie was told in a tough situation and the person was honored for doing the right thing in that situation.

Black and white might be great for the majority of situations, but there has to be room for common sense when things get more complicated.

 

[Aaron]

Hmmm....

As much as I agree with this decision, because I don't see it as discrimination....

...it does open the door for suveilling of Christian "fundamentalist" groups "to locate budding domestic terrorist conspiracies"....

You think they're not?