[Infowarrior] - Judge says NY surveillance data can be made public

[Richard Forno]

Judge says NY surveillance data can be made public
Fri May 4, 2007 5:23 PM ET

By Daniel Trotta

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyid=200
7-05-04T212336Z_01_N04458232_RTRUKOC_0_US-NEWYORK-CONVENTION.xml&src=rss&rpc
=22

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Six hundred pages of documents relating to intelligence
that New York City gathered before the 2004 Republican National Convention
should be made public, a federal judge ruled on Friday.

Judge James Francis of U.S. District Court in Manhattan struck down the
city's attempt to keep the documents confidential, but agreed to keep them
sealed pending a possible city appeal.

The New York Civil Liberties Union and The New York Times had petitioned the
judge to make the documents public.

The city had argued their publication could influence potential jurors in a
larger case, yet to go trial, in which about 90 protesters who were arrested
at the convention are suing the city alleging their rights were violated
through mass arrests, prolonged detentions and blanket fingerprinting.

More than 1,800 demonstrators were arrested over eight days in August and
September of 2004 as the Republican Party met in New York to nominate
President George W. Bush as its candidate in the presidential election.

"Notably, the city does not contend that these documents must be kept
confidential because of security concerns or because public disclosures
would jeopardize legitimate law enforcement interests," the judge wrote in
14-page ruling.

Lawyers for the city and the plaintiffs -- the New York Civil Liberties
Union -- agreed not to release the documents at least until the city decides
whether to appeal.

The New York Times reported the records showed that undercover New York
police officers posed as sympathizers at meetings of political groups and
identified those who had expressed interest in violent action.

The Times also said undercover police spied on people planning protests at
the convention, both in the United States and in Europe.

Police say all of their surveillance was legal and approved in advance by a
special three-member panel made up of two senior police officers and a
representative of the mayor.

The surveillance was carried out by an intelligence branch created after the
September 11 attacks to gather information on threats to public safety and
reduce the city's reliance on the federal government.