Reply #2: This source was before the acquital but details the case and defense

[csziggy]

Phil Mocek: On Trial For Being TSA Checkpoint Worker's Worst Nightmare
By Keegan Hamilton, Wed., Jan. 19 2011 @ 1:25PM

On November 15, 2009, Phil Mocek stepped into the main terminal at the Albuquerque International Sunport planning to board a Southwest Airlines flight bound for SeaTac. He carried with him two pieces of luggage, a boarding pass, and a cell phone capable of recording audio and video. What he didn't have was a valid form of identification--no driver's license, no passport, nothing. So when Mocek reached the front of the line at the airport security checkpoint, the TSA worker asked him to step aside for further questioning. A few hours later, Mocek's flight touched down in Washington. He wasn't on board. Instead, the 37-year-old software developer was stuck inside a cell at the Albuquerque jail.

When Mocek attempted to record his conversation with the TSA checkpoint workers, they summoned both the Albuquerque police and the FBI. Mocek was eventually arrested and charged with four misdemeanors: trespassing, disorderly conduct, refusing to obey an officer, and concealing his identity.

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Edward Hasbrouck, founder of the Identity Project, a nonprofit organization that "builds public awareness about the effects of ID requirements on fundamental rights," says Mocek's case marks the first time anyone has ever challenged the TSA's authority to question and detain travelers.

" wants people to show ID and submit to a search and groping, but there's no legal basis for most of this," Hasbrouck says. "The TSA relies fundamentally on intimidation. The ultimate threat is 'We'll call the local police.' And when they're called in, they don't say 'We don't see a crime here.' They get that person out of there."

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2011/01/phil_mocek_tsa_checkpoint_trial.php