A federal judge told Naperville, Illinois smart meter opponents Friday to return to court in two weeks with more proof that their constitutional rights had been violated. Judge John Z. Lee was hearing a request from the smart meter opponents to make the city allow customers to keep their analog meters at no charge while their lawsuit continues.

 

The Naperville Smart Meter Awareness Group filed suit in December in an attempt to stop the city from continuing its smart meter installations until safeguards and other options they approve of have been enacted. The city is installing smart meters on about 57,000 homes and the project is about 95% complete, according to an article in the Chicago Tribune. The city has asked Judge Lee to dismiss the suit.

 

The group has cited several health and safety as well as security and privacy issues with smart meters, and claims the city has violated their constitutional rights to due process, protection from unreasonable searches and protection from the government taking private property, the article said. During the Friday hearing, an attorney for the group cited recent reports of smart meter-related residential fires as an additional concern. A city attorney responded by saying the fires were the result of faulty installation and that no meter-related fires have happened in Naperville.

 

The group also contends that the non-wireless meters the city has offered as an option is unacceptable because the city is charging too much for them.

 

Lee told the opponents' attorney to come back in 14 days with additional proof to substantiate the group's claims of constitutional rights violations. The city will have 14 days to respond after the opponents' brief is filed.

 

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Putting the burden of proof in right place

Judge Lee took a very reasonable approach here that is a good model. Given that the opponents' accusations are unfounded in reality, placing the burden of proof on them makes a lot of sense.

Judith Schwartz - 10/03/2012 - 08:35

Smart Meters

http://www.areweawareyet.com/23906/oh-the-irony-smart-grid-control-software-maker-gets-hacked/ Oh, the irony. It's my opinion that all the costs for security, data storage, hacker blackouts, stolen personal and daily habit data, escalating costs to maintain and update the massive wireless network, costs of handling countless civil and police subpoenas, and litigation from the health effects of forced 24/7 radiation exposure on pregnant women and their infants and children will cost far more than the electricity itself. Most of us are already taking precautions on cell phone use, and would never allow infants or children to play with them, nor keep them in their cribs or play areas. The privacy, property rights, civil rights and health concerns seem to be just "bumps in the road" for these control freaks that mandate all to participate in their science experiment, for their own economic, personal or political ambitions. Our homes, our families...our choice.

Sandy Glass - 10/03/2012 - 12:58

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