March in peace protest, get on the no-fly list

Via Balkinization, we get another account of the Brazil-esque no-fly list in action, this time from Walter F. Murphy, professor emeritus at Princeton University. Blogger Mark Graber calls him "the most distinguished scholar of public law in political science." Here's what happened to the good prof on a recent academic trip …

"On 1 March 07, I was scheduled to fly on American Airlines to Newark, NJ, to attend an academic conference at Princeton University, designed to focus on my latest scholarly book, Constitutional Democracy, published by Johns Hopkins University Press this past Thanksgiving.

"When I tried to use the curb-side check in at the Sunport, I was denied a boarding pass because I was on the Terrorist Watch list. I was instructed to go inside and talk to a clerk. At this point, I should note that I am not only the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence (emeritus) but also a retired Marine colonel. I fought in the Korean War as a young lieutenant, was wounded, and decorated for heroism. I remained a professional soldier for more than five years and then accepted a commission as a reserve office, serving for an additional 19 years.