Originally Posted by
bocastephen
Sounds like the Court wants the Government to have its cake and eat it too - so much so that
Law Dawg actually agrees with part of our sentiment
I hope this ruling is over-turned, but given the far-right swing of the Supreme Court, it's unlikely they will touch a ruling they think is just fine as is, even if there is an error in the ruling - they will just re-validate it and clarify the 9/11 nonsense.
It should be really simple - criminal search or administrative search. If it's an administrative search and you give consent by committing some act, then you should complete the search BUT the search can only be for items relevant to the administrative purpose - anything else is totally 100% inadmissible.
If it's a criminal search, or the search could become criminal upon finding non-germane items, you should have the right to withdraw consent at any time, for any reason and be free to leave without threat of further detention or search unless a specific warrant is issued to permit an additional criminal search.
The government can't have it both ways, and I'm not sure which startles me more - the 9th Circuit (Moonbeam Avenue) ruling in favor of the government, or a justice citing a non-legal political matter (9/11 and terrorism) as the basis for the decision. That was just idiotic, unlawful and as his colleague suggested, opened the door for challenges later on.
I do not have a law degree, only some limited knowledge of certain aspects of the law, and it appears to me that your knowledge level and law understanding is rather similar to mine.
However, I must disagree with the simplicity of the fact. It is not a case of either or. It's a case of keeping people safe. If a weapon is found, what is TSA to do? Obviosly call the cops. Suddenly the scope of the search moved from administrative to criminal.
If something OTHER than a weapon is found that is of an illegal nature, drugs for example, then certain guidelines should be set. Posession is a crime last I checked. TSA being federal employees must have a specific guideline to summon law enforcement officers to take over the search if they find a crime is being comitted. It seems to me that this is partially what TSA did. TSA found a wrapped object in the man's pocket and opened it. Now this is an universe's worth of gray area! If metal detectors weren't triggered, then I don't believe TSA has the right to search any further. As I said, TSA unwrapped the pipe, AFTER they had called the cops. Now whether the unwrapping was done because the cop authorized TSA to do it, or was done without the cop's knowledge, that I don't know. This piece of info is not included in the "statement of facts" and I believe it should have. It is this very point that would have made the difference between a rightful and wrongful search.
Basically this boils down to what everyone has been saying all along in this board, and that is that TSA simply has FREE REIGN over you and your posessions while you are in their yard. There are no guidelines, your rights fly out of the window and any complaint is met with threats and possible escalations to the level of arrest.
Placing this reign under the 911 umbrella is a very cheap move, shame on whoever uses it! Not everything that happens nowadays is terrorism related or terrorism inspired.
If TSA is to truly be effective yet NON INTRUSIVE they should assemble 2 teams of lawyers and judges. One pro unlimited searches and one against such searches. Let these two teams bust their heads and come up with a solution that CLEARLY defines what TSA can and cannot do. If there is a simple solution to be had, I believe this is it, however reaching a consensus will be anything but simple.
Too bad this is only a dream...