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Dead Constitution See other Dead Constitution Articles Title: Wrongly Accused Man Settles Bomb Suit A lawyer the FBI wrongly arrested after the 2004 Madrid terrorist bombings because of a misidentified fingerprint has settled part of his lawsuit against the U.S. government for $2 million. Brandon Mayfield, who was detained for two weeks in 2004, maintained that he was arrested because of his Muslim faith. "Not only does my detention as a material witness in the Madrid bombing underscore the fallacy that fingerprint identification is reliable, I hope the public will remember that the U.S. government also targeted me and my family because of our Muslim religion," he said in a statement Wednesday. The local FBI office said Wednesday that it was proud of its work in the case _ other than the fingerprint error. "If a similar investigation was being conducted, and we were provided a fingerprint identification, we would do exactly what we did in the case of Mr. Mayfield," said agent Robert Jordan. "We are very proud of what we did here, but we recognize that our laboratory made a mistake." Justice Department spokeswoman Tasia Scolinos said the FBI has since adopted suggestions for improving its fingerprint identification process "to ensure that what happened to Mr. Mayfield does not happen again." The U.S. formally apologized to Mayfield as part of the settlement, Scolinos said. Two internal Justice investigations cleared the FBI and prosecutors of wrongdoing, she said. A December 2005 review by the department's Office of Professional Responsibility found that federal prosecutors who handled the investigation acted appropriately. A month later, Justice Inspector General Glenn A. Fine concluded that Mayfield's faith was not the reason the FBI began its investigation, and that the agency did not misuse provisions of the USA Patriot Act. Mayfield was arrested in May 2004 on the basis of a fingerprint found on a bag of detonators in Madrid that was mistakenly matched to him after the March 11, 2004, train bombings that killed 191 people and wounded more than 1,500. Mayfield was jailed on a material witness warrant but was released after the FBI acknowledged the fingerprint was not his. The government acknowledged in the settlement that it "performed covert physical searches of the Mayfield home and law office, and it also conducted electronic surveillance targeting Mr. Mayfield at both his home and law office," according to a news release from Mayfield's attorney, Elden Rosenthal. The settlement allows Mayfield to continue to pursue his challenge of the USA Patriot Act, Rosenthal said. Mayfield claims the act violates the Fourth Amendment because it allows government searches without probable cause that a crime has been committed. "The Patriot Act is decidedly not patriotic," Rosenthal said. "We will vigorously pursue this constitutional challenge to the highest courts in the country."
Poster Comment: Only cost the Taxpayers 2 Million dollars ! The settlement allows Mayfield to continue to pursue his challenge of the USA Patriot Act, Rosenthal said. Mayfield claims the act violates the Fourth Amendment because it allows government searches without probable cause that a crime has been committed. "The Patriot Act is decidedly not patriotic," Rosenthal said. "We will vigorously pursue this constitutional challenge to the highest courts in the country."
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#1. To: noone222 (#0)
Oh. We are proud of a mistake that wrongly accused an individual!?! Just for saying that, this FBI guy should be FIRED. YESTERDAY.
Falsification of evidence, falsifying government documents, false arrest etc., etc., ........ OOPS Mistakes for government = error Mistakes for citizens = felony
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