Court restores oversight of NYPD.(Race Files)

In 'Every Move You Make ...," (Fall 2003), Color Lines reported that Federal Judge Charles Haight had reversed the Handschu decree to give the NYPD mole flexibility for fighting terrorism. The 1985 court decree, named after one of the activists listed in the original suit, had required the NYPD to show evidence of criminal activity and to go through an external authority before it would be allowed to initiate surveillance such as infiltration, wiretapping, or recording political views. An April court decision allowed the NYPD to replace the Handschu guidelines with somewhat softer guidelines, and cancelled court oversight of intelligence decisions. On Aug. 7, lawyers trying to limit the NYPD's ability to spy on political activists won back an important portion of these controls.

After activists exposed the NYPD's interrogation of anti-war protesters, lawyers for Handschu asked the judge to reconsider the question of court oversight. The NYPD came under fire for using a "Demonstration Debriefing Form" and asking intrusive questions. The lawyers asserted that the questioning proved ...