Town cites Patriot Act in response to homeless man's suit

[brooklynite]

Published in the Asbury Park Press 06/29/05

NEWARK — The USA Patriot Act allows the government to find out which books and Internet sites a person has seen. It also lets investigators secretly search someone's home and monitor people's phone calls and e-mail, all in the name of fighting terrorism.

Now, a New Jersey town being sued for kicking homeless people out of a train station claims the Patriot Act allows it to do that as well.

In an answer to a federal lawsuit brought by a homeless man, Richard Kreimer, who objected to being told to leave the Summit train station, the city says its conduct is protected by the Patriot Act and the lawsuit should be barred. The city cited a section of the law regarding "attacks and other violence against mass transportation systems."

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050629/NEWS03/506290364/1007
- - -
I guess you just can't be too safe (or too tidy...)

[wakeme2008]

1. I think the town will have to pay up on this one

once they try to use the Patriot Act for their excuse, when that fails, the City will have very little other excuses to fall back on.

IMHO, they picked a loser for an excuse...

[insane_cratic_gal]

2. How is sleeping

considered a Violent act against Mass transportation? Or moving out of the cold for that matter?

They hate seeing the victims of poverty.

[brooklynite]

3. Maybe they're claiming he's part of a "Sleeper Cell"...

[insane_cratic_gal]

5. LOL ya!

crazy bastards out there, high on their own idea of power.

[WhiteTara]

13. LOL! eom

[mcscajun]

4. Richard Kreimer is famous...in NJ and nationwide.

Probably the most well-known homeless person. Some background here:
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/104-05082005-486550.html

[Toots]

6. This shows how the Patriot Act will be used against ordinary Americans

They make absolutely no claim that he is a suspected terrorist just that they now have the ability to do unAmerican things to people via the Patriot Act. Because he is homeless he will recveive no sympathy but the fact that Patriot Act is being abused is obvious.

[zbdent]

7. so, peeing in an alley is now hyped as "contaminating the water

supply"?

It could happen . . .

[theearthisround]

8. Town cites Patriot Act in response to homeless man's suit

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050629/NEWS03/506290364/1007

The USA Patriot Act allows the government to find out which books and Internet sites a person has seen. It also lets investigators secretly search someone's home and monitor people's phone calls and e-mail, all in the name of fighting terrorism.

Now, a New Jersey town being sued for kicking homeless people out of a train station claims the Patriot Act allows it to do that as well.

In an answer to a federal lawsuit brought by a homeless man, Richard Kreimer, who objected to being told to leave the Summit train station, the city says its conduct is protected by the Patriot Act and the lawsuit should be barred. The city cited a section of the law regarding "attacks and other violence against mass transportation systems."

"Unless they've been smoking those funny cigarettes, I can't see how my civil lawsuit has anything to do with the Patriot Act," said Kreimer, 55, who is acting as his own lawyer. "I can't figure that one out."

(more)
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050629/NEWS03/506290364/1007

[marbuc]

9. The homeless

Osama's secret weapon

[ExclamationPoint]

10. wtf?

How could the patriot act possibly have anything to do with officials forcing a homeless man out of train station either than they both have things to do with corrupt, fascist, and prejudiced conservatives?

[ucmike]

11. this guy is an obnoxious jerk, and trouble maker

i worked for a librarian named in his suit against morristown, nj. he instigated the problems, refused their efforts to compromise, then sued based on discrimination. if he wasn't homeless he would've never gotten before a judge with his case.

summit is an uptight, pretentious, snobby town, with very high property taxes and very affluent populace and he went there with the intention of starting a fight with them.

this is not a story about some downtrodden homeless guy being oppressed by the system. this is the story of a repeat opportunist who is making himself a victim for profit.

[quaoar]

12. Update: Feds say Patriot Act has no place in homeless lawsuit

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--patriotact-homele0629jun29,0,4680804.story?coll=ny-region-apnewjersey

By WAYNE PARRY
Associated Press Writer

June 29, 2005, 2:47 PM EDT

NEWARK, N.J. -- The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday criticized a New Jersey municipality for invoking the USA Patriot Act to defend itself from a lawsuit over kicking homeless people out of its train station.

In an answer to a federal lawsuit brought by a homeless man who objected to being told to leave the Summit train station, the city said its conduct is protected by the Patriot Act and the lawsuit should be barred. The city cited a section of the law regarding "attacks and other violence against mass transportation systems."

But Kevin Madden, a Justice Department spokesman, said Summit has no business invoking the anti-terrorism law to justify its treatment of the homeless.

"That represents a fundamental misunderstanding of what the Patriot Act is," he said Wednesday. "The Patriot Act is a law enforcement tool to identify and track terrorists and stop them from further attacks on America. To apply it to this case is, shall we say, an overreaching application of the law."

[NNN0LHI]

14. New Jersey Town Says Patriot Act Lets Train Stations Bar Homeless

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGB3PAYRKAE.html

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - The USA Patriot Act, in the name of fighting terrorism, allows the government to find out which books and Internet sites a person has seen. It lets investigators secretly search homes and monitor phone calls and e-mail.

Now, officials in the wealthy New York City suburb of Summit are using the law to justify forcing homeless people to leave a train station - an action that sparked a $5 million federal lawsuit by a homeless man.

Richard Kreimer, who filed the lawsuit in March after being kicked out of the train station, said the Patriot Act defense makes no sense.

"Unless they've been smoking those funny cigarettes, I can't see how my civil lawsuit has anything to do with the Patriot Act," said Kreimer, 55, who is acting as his own attorney.

[rfranklin]

15. Unfortunately, Kreimer is a bum in every sense of the word...

He used to hang out in Morristown, NJ, harassing people on the streets. He was very unplesant to look at, but he also would stare at people, especially women and children, in a really disturbing manner. He would frequent the public library and stink up the entire room since he hadn't bathed for weeks. Then he would follow women around the library and mutter obscenities at them. The library staff told him to leave. He then sued the library and they settled for about $100,000. The case was later reversed but the money was gone. Kreimer lives off of lawsuits.

[no_hypocrisy]

16. True about Kreimer, but the PATRIOT ACT is still misused in the name

of security. Kreimer and a similar demographic may be aesthetically unattractive and unwelcome, but there is no evidence propounded about their likelihood of harming individuals or the public at large.

The town of Summit contains the wealthiest per capita residents in the state of New Jersey with very toney shops bordering the train station. I can understand why the Chamber of Commerce, shoppes, New Jersey Transit, and commuters would not care have Kreimer and other homeless make Summit their new hangout, let alone the train station.

If the police are going to use their traditional power as "peace officers" for the community, maybe they should stick to the traditional devices of violations of local ordinances, criminal statutes, vagrancy, loitering, etc. and leave the PATRIOT ACT for "real" terrorists vs. fallacious terrorists.

[rfranklin]

17. You're right that it is an abuse of the Patriot Act...

(a law which is an abuse of the Constitution) but Kreimer is the worst person to challenge its abuse. He may actually increase the support for its use as an anti-loitering law.

[no_hypocrisy]

18. With due respect, the focus should be on the law, not the defendant.

Kreimer or anybody else who is evicted by means of the PATRIOT ACT is a valid defendant.

My premise is that if Summit is going to evict Kreimer and the rest of the homeless, use another law on the books as the legal device to get the job done. Leave the PATRIOT ACT out of the controversy.

Plus, if other laws such as vagrancy and loitering have been found to be unconstitutional, BUT the PATRIOT ACT provides permission otherwise denied to the above-referenced ordinances, then this proves that the PATRIOT ACT is designed to override the Constitution and its protections for individuals against government oppression.

[derbstyron]

19. And he's supposed to go where, exactly?

Well, just keep brushing him along until he hits the town's outskirts and becomes some other town's problem.

compassionate conservatism...thousand points of light..yada..yada