Originally Posted by PoliceStateSurvivor
And, furthermore, we could tell people (or should we call them "sheople") who are scared to the point of selling their freedom that THEY should choose another mode of transportation or, better yet, stay home.
IMO, we should not have to choose between freedom from unreasonable searches (Fourth Amendment) and the right to travel (Fifth Amendment).
I would also like to comment on the "implied consent" concept some have advocated. My understanding is that implied consent ruling was made when the airport security screening was limited to WTMD and X-ray of the carry-on bags. I do not think current procedures have been seriously tested in Court.
Suppose that DHS (as part of an effort to stop a potential suicide bomber) issued a ruling stating that any person driving or walking down the street is subject to a random stop and search and by leaving your home you give implied consent to such search. Nobody could possibly think it is constitutional. Then why is it different in airports?
I would be curious to see what practicing attorneys who participate in this forum have to say. I am not an attorney, by the way.
Forgive me if someone has already responded to this post, but PoliceStateSurivivor hit the nail on the head. In legal jargon, the terminology is "exceeding the
scope of the authorized search". Using TSA reasoning, body cavity searches would be justified because of the potential threat. Many of us have been advocating PSS's position, that 4th Amendment reasonableness test applies to checkpoint screenings, especially when no WTMD alarm or obvious bulge. If no objective indications of involvement with criminal activity, then no justification for a more intrusive search, as per
Terry v. Ohio and its progeny.
FWIW, I had no objection to backscatter X-ray searches, as a minimally obtrusive method of searching, but after reading this week's report on radiation and cancer, no way. Does anyone know whether nuclear magnetic resonance imaging present the same radiation exposure issue as backscatter X-rays?