Judge Yolande Bourgeois
If you’re looking at me, then who’s looking at the real terrorists out there? What could I possibly have done, to be put on a list? Is anyone safer because I’m on a terror list? I don’t think so!
— Judge Yolande Bourgeois of the Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois, offering comments after learning that she had been placed on “known terrorist list” by the Transportation Security Administration. Bourgeois made this discovery when she was returning home from a trip to Cancun. Her flight was diverted to Indianapolis, Indiana, because of the weather, and when she attempted to return to Chicago the next day, her boarding pass was marked “SSSS,” for Secondary Security Screening Selection. She received a full body pat-down, her suitcase was searched, and TSA agents demanded that she turn on all of her electronics. Bourgeois is unsure if she was actually put on such a terrorist list or if she was randomly selected for enhanced screening.
Staci Zaretsky has been an editor at Above the Law since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.