Supreme Court: Name Privacy Not a Constitutional Right

Associated Press
Monday, June 21, 2004





It's a decision that allows police to arrest and punish people who don't reveal their identities.

In a five-to-four decision, the Supreme Court has ruled people don't have a constitutional right to refuse to tell police their name.

Privacy advocates have argued such a ruling could let the government force people who have done nothing wrong to submit to fingerprinting or give up more personal information.

Police had argued that ID requests are a normal part of their work, including efforts to get information on terrorists.

The ruling upholds a Nevada rancher's misdemeanor conviction. He was arrested after he told a law officer he didn't have to reveal his name or show an ID. The dissenting justices say the rancher acted "well within" his rights.

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Fascism!

:scared: