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Court affirms its ban on patdowns

By JENNIFER LIBERTO
Published December 2, 2005

TAMPA - The Tampa Sports Authority changed courts in a case involving security patdowns at Tampa Bay Buccaneers home games, in a move Wednesday that coincided with an appellate ruling upholding a ban on patdowns.

Florida's 2nd District Court of Appeal reaffirmed its ban on patdowns at Raymond James Stadium during the rest of the football season in a sharply worded opinion, which supports its ban on patdowns issued in November.

Gordon Johnston, a high school teacher and season ticket holder, filed the original lawsuit against the Tampa Sports Authority to stop patdowns, which he says violate federal and state protections against illegal searches.

"If the stay (which had allowed patdowns) were to remain in force during this appeal, Johnston would suffer definite, irreparable, and irremediable harm to his important constitutional interests each time the Buccaneers play at home," according to the opinion written by Judge Stevan Northcutt.

That same day, the Tampa Sports Authority moved the case from state court to federal court, a change that will not immediately affect the current patdown injunction.

The move means a final resolution of the patdown dispute could be even slower in coming, since the federal system tends to move more slowly than the state system, attorneys say.

Attorneys for the authority would not say whether they intend to ask a federal judge to overrule the appeals court. But they do hope the change will mean a fresh start for the case.

Sports Authority lawyers say the change "removes all the proceedings in state court," said authority attorney Richard Zabak.

Attorneys for Johnston said they're not surprised by the authority's move to federal court. Part of their complaint cites Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment violations.

"We feel confident that the federal court is thoughtful and experienced in handling these types of cases," said Rebecca Steele, an attorney for the ACLU in Florida.

Tampa civil rights attorney Luke Lirot said the Tampa Sports Authority would have several motivations behind its move to federal court, including an opportunity at getting a "more advantageous" judge.

"Federal judges are not subject to the same political pressures as a local judge, who may be directly or indirectly or consciously or subconsciously concerned with appealing to the electorate," said Lirot, who does not represent anyone in the patdown case.

[Last modified December 2, 2005, 01:13:14]