9th Circuit rules for JPL freedom from Big Brother
Just got a call from JPL scientist Bobby Nelson, who tells me that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled against the government and for academic freedom of speech -- and thought -- at the La Canada Flintridge lab, run by Caltech for NASA.
This is the case in which long-time staffers have fought for years for the constitutional rights to privacy and against the post-9/11 dictum that all government employees must submit to sometimes overbearing paperwork that asks people to detail a crazy amount of information about past and present financial transactions and political associations.
It's a split decision -- 3-3 among the judges who had not recused themselves -- and I've just taken a brief look at the ruling and the dissent, which is up at the 9th Circuit Web site, http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/opinions/ -- the top five items pertain to Nelson vs. NASA.
It's a tremendous victory in the Pasadena courthouse on South Grand Avenue for the good guys in this case -- loyal JPL scientists and engineers who just want to be able to go about their important work.
If the guv'ment wants to appeal, it has to take it to the Supreme Court. Here's hoping it doesn't.