European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 5, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                June stars a n d t r i p e s Page 17 opinion should Congress exempt citizens who report possible terrorism from lawsuits yes protect those who act to keep people Safe by Lawrence Haas Washington if you see say that the slogan of the Washington metropolitan area transit author which asks passengers to re port suspicious behaviour or unattended items to transit its essentially the same message that Law enforcement and other bodies Send to peo ple across asking their help in thwarting our government protect us from average people must be aware of their on the Lookout for suspicious and eager to relay their concerns to Law enforcement and other a lawsuit filed in is threatening the ability of average people to play this crucial six imams Are suing us the cites Airport author Ity most Shonto renamed John does who raised concerns about the imams behaviour before a prompting the airline to remove them from the if that lawsuit would have a chilling effect on the willingness of other John does to play this the store clerk in new Jersey who helped thwart a plot by several muslims to kill soldiers at fort Dix this year might not have stepped How Many other Tennial heroes might decide that a lawsuit int Worth the Trou ble is anyone that Why con which is considering legislation to protect terrorism whistle blowers from Federal or state must Send a Bill to president Bush for his signature As soon As in late the six imams were scheduled to Fly from Minneapolis to Phoe As passengers settled into their the imams spread sitting in twos in the Middle and Back of the plane while ignoring their seat they asked for Seatbelt though they did not seem to need raising concerns that they planned to use them As they also spoke loudly and disparagingly about the United not some passengers grew concerned and expressed their views to air line the in removed the imams from the questioned them in the and released the imams responded with the lawsuit in that people should not fear lawsuits for helping to thwart terrorism should be a but on Capitol critics have argued that some people could level bogus charges against muslims or anyone with whom they have a forcing inno cent americans to defend fair Point and to their the Lead ing sponsors of John Doe legislation have acknowledged the a Bill by Peter Steve and Bill and another by Joe Susan and Jon explicitly do not protect from lawsuit anyone who knowingly files false the Bills sponsors also made their legis Al a no immunity Laws wont achieve their purpose i the 11 from what is to Are am sync Oufa Senules to these  Toft the last thing that our government should do is allow others to put a Legal Roadblock in the Way of future terrorism lation retroactive to last ensuring if it will supersede any potentially negative ruling in the imams Law after the average people from California to Maine asked How they could help protect they never received a very Good answer from the Bush and which suggested that they shop in order to keep the Economy average people stepped they include the John does in min Neapolis and the store clerk in new the last thing that our government should do is allow others to put a Legal Road Block in the Way of future terrorism Whis rather than await the outcome of a Law suit in Congress should act now to protect americans who Are trying to protect our Lawrence Haas is visiting senior fellow at the Georgetown Public policy Institute in Washington a commentator on a business radio show and a senior adviser to Manning Selvage a Public relations i by John Quigley Ohio s immunization of those who report in formation the Way to Deal with aircraft safety identical Bills introduced in Midway in the House and Senate would purport to immunize from civil suit anyone who reports suspicious activity that poses a threat to an the Bills Are a response to a lawsuit filed in Federal court in Minneapolis from an Inci Dent last november in which us airways re moved several islamic clerics imams from a flight just prior to after receiving reports from passengers that they behaved in a Way that suggested they might be plan Ning an the Bills would immunize passengers who in Good Faith report suspicious Active the Bills would be effective retroactive to last hence would preclude suit by the clerics against the to the clerics do not have the names of the passengers but Are suing them As John hoping to get their names from us the scenario hence the supposed need for is More than a Little people who Board an aircraft plan Ning to Hijack it or commit some other terror is Type act Are not Likely to draw attention to themselves by engaging in suspicious con duct As the flight is preparing for the 11 from what is remained quiet until they were in the the need to immunize passengers is also not there is Little Chance that a suit against a passenger who in Good Faith re ports suspicious activity would pass the pre trial it was not the passengers in the november incident who removed the Cler it was us backers of the legislation say that it is too easy to even with no Legal Howe great risk is taken by a and by a plaintiffs in filing a frivolous Law Rule 11 of the Federal rules of civil procedure Calls for including Money against a lawyer who files a frivolous the defendant May be Able to collect the defendants including attorney from the whatever one thinks of the aim behind the they May not achieve their that is so because the Bills immunize Only a person who reports suspicious activity in Good the Bills deny immunity to anyone who knows that the information they report is a plaintiff could argue that the person could not have made the report in Good and therefore that no immunity the Bills purport to preclude suit not Only in Federal court but in state court As tort Law is traditionally a matter for the so the Bills amount to an infringe ment on the and for a purpose that May not be discrimination against muslims has unfortunately led to exclusion of muslims from flights when there was no serious basis for that practice is doubtless what motivates the clerics in their suit against us we have not yet found an accurate and efficient Way of screening the checking is done by the but the government conceals from the airlines the names of suspected terrorists who May not be aware they Are under so those most Likely to do harm on a flight can Board the transportation Security administration May take Over the checking task from the but not before even it is not Clear that Tsa will be Able to accurately identify Only those against whom there Are grounds for the screening system needs an legislation that tries to immunize people who report information will Likely be Ine Fec John Quigley is a professor of Law at the Ohio state University in prickly City by Scott Stantis self Cut i it loan on Nat we Coop t set