I'm not sure that, at this point, I'd recommend law school to anyone. For what it's worth, the LEOs I knew when I was in law school all did very, very well, and I'm sure you will, too.

You're absolutely correct. I'm a civil lawyer, not a criminal lawyer, and my knowledge of criminal law is very limited. However, my particular area of law, intellectual property, has a very strong Constitutional component, and I feel reasonably comfortable recognizing when constitutional limits have been violated, at least in such narrow areas as the First Amendment.

I have no doubt of that. I'll bet, "You're violating my rights!" is something you hear every day, and I'll also bet that the person saying it is wrong 99.999999% of the time.

Absolutely. The law is the same in CA -- a person making a citizen's arrest is held to the same liability as a law enforcement professional. The difference is that LEOs know when and how to make an arrest and civilians do not.

The courts have to the extent of affirming the validity of a LEO's arrest based on a TSO reporting the contraband. I don't question the validity of your making arrests on this basis anymore than I'd question the validity of an arrest that you make based on any citizen's report of wrong doing. If I tell you, "I just saw that guy over there buy drugs," I'd expect you to act on that information (assuming you deem it credible) just as I'd expect you to act on a TSO saying, "I just saw illegal drugs in that guy's carry-on." My argument is not, in the least, with you or how you're doing your job. I do, however, have an argument with someone being a busy-body (the legal term of art is, I believe, "officious intermeddler.") I'll bet you do, too; I'm sure you get no shortage of "good samaritans" who tell you, "That man is speaking a foreign language and I think he's a terrorist!" Though, of course, you'll be polite to this "good citizen," I'm sure, in your mind, you're thinking, "Mind you're own business and let me do my job!" The job of a TSO is to keep commercial aviation safe, not to combat kiddie-porn, fight the war on drugs, detect industrial espionage, enforce copyright law, find Amber-alert kids, etc. By every conceivable metric, they are doing an incredibly poor job -- every study I've read says they detect firearms and IEDs only 30% of the time. That's atrocious! If TSA was actually doing some good, I might be more receptive to TSOs acting like good citizens beyond the scope of their legal brief. However, not only is it not, but some (though, of course, not all, or even most) TSOs act in ways that are clearly unconstitutional. I know that you will not arrest me for saying, "Kip Hawley is an idiot." I know that you will not arrest because I refuse to engage in a conversation with a BDO. In fact, I will absolutely rely on you and specifically request your presence in the event that I think a TSO is acting contrary to law and in contravention of Constitutional limits on his power. You and your fellow police stand between me and the law breakers, not TSA.

I respectfully disagree. If a TSO refuses to surrender my carry-on to me until law enforcement is summoned because he found a baggie full of pu'er tea in it, I believe he has committed, at least, a civil violation of laws against false imprisonment (though, of course, these vary by state). If a TSO confiscates my prescription medications until a police officer can examine them and obtain an explanation from me as to what they are, I believe he has committed, at least, the civil tort of conversion. If a TSO summons a LEO because I am wearing a t-shirt with a picture of a Transformer on it, he has violated my First Amendment rights.

Please see above. The question isn't whether it is a detention or illegal search and seizure -- TSOs have no power to detain, and administrative searches have been deemed constitutional in this context. You, of course, act completely lawfully when you arrest someone for possession of contraband. That is true even if evidence of the contraband was obtained illegally by a private citizen, e.g. I can break into my neighbors house, remove evidence of drug dealing and take it down to my local police station. Though I may be criminally liable for burglary, you are free to arrest the drug dealer and the evidence won't be excluded under "fruit of the poison tree" doctrine, as it was not obtained by state action. And, if it turns out that the "evidence" I brought in was my neighbor's supply of pu'er tea, I'd expect to be prosecuted for burglary and theft.

I am aware of no basis in law that immunize a TSO for confiscation of suspected contraband that turns out to be harmless and legal. With respect to the tort of conversion, there is no time threshold before it applies. With respect to the tort of false imprisonment, it must be more than "momentary." I'm not familiar with the case law, but I'd be surprised if one or two minutes would be deemed "momentary."

Sure. That's because, when you make an arrest, it is a legitimate exercise of your police powers. The fact that you acted lawfully doesn't, in any way, justify or excuse violations committed by a TSO, who is afforded no police powers.

Would that were true. There are a number of TSOs and TSA supervisors who post here on FT and, happily, they are almost all among the ethical, honest and efficient employees of that organization. However, there have been far too many reports here of abuses by TSOs, with subsequent documented complaints simply ignored by TSA, for me to feel any level of confidence in the complaint procedure. With the exception of active investigations, policing by LEOs is pretty transparent -- any time I want, I can walk into my local police station, ask to see a commanding officer and, assuming they're not busy with other things, they'll speak with me an answer any questions I might have. I've never had occasion to complain about a policeman, but I've had a number of instances in which I wanted to discuss neighborhood safety concerns, etc., and my inquiries were addressed promptly, courteously, and informatively. There is no comparable mechanism with TSA. Too many FTers have indicated that even something as simple as asking for a complaint form can result in stonewalling, demands for ID, etc. I find it very disturbing that police departments, which are the agencies that by law could act like the Gestapo if they wanted to, never do, whereas TSA, which has absolutely no police powers whatsoever, engages in jack-booted Constitutional violations often enough that it is a major concern, both here on FT, in the media, and among the public.

I'm sure you're absolutely correct. Here on FT, we complain about Gomers and Kettles, i.e. inexperienced fliers, who make the travel process annoying and unpleasant. I'm sure that, just as we must contend with their obnoxious antics on-board, TSOs must contend with their obnoxious antics at screening. For that matter, I'm sure you encounter more than your share of people who I'd bet you like to arrest for no other reason than people that stupid and arrogant are a threat to themselves and others. The difference, however, between LEOs and a number of TSOs, is that LEOs are highly trained and skilled professionals who understand the limits of their jobs and can distinguish between someone being an a__hole who is acting illegally, and someone who is just an a__hole.

I think you'll agree that the good policeman is one who chooses the career because he or she wants to serve the community and believes that a lawful, safe and well-ordered community is essential to a free society. The bad policeman is one who wants an excuse to exercise power over others. I can honestly say that, in my 50+ years, I've never, not once, encountered an example of the latter -- I'm continually impressed by the dedication, concern and professionalism of the police officers that I meet or observe on the job. There are, however, bad apples in every barrel, but I rely on the department to deal with them. And I know the department does because there is transparency -- the media has access to and reports on the result of disciplinary proceedings within the police department. Maybe I have an overly rosy view of law enforcement, but I can only go by my own personal experience (I'd add, too, that my admiration for the job police officers do also extends to fire and paramedic personnel).

Virtually all the TSOs that I encounter are also professional and courteous. However, I have seen a number of examples of those who are not. Unlike police departments, there is no transparency at TSA. I am not aware of a single instance in which the results of a disciplinary proceeding were made public. Indeed, the only time I hear anything about TSA is when it is the police who must get involved, e.g. when TSOs are arrested for stealing from passenger luggage, etc.

Transparency is essential. I trust the police because I know that the police will discipline their own if and when necessary, and I know this because the police departments make this information public. I don't trust TSA because there is no transparency and, unlike my lifetime of positive experiences with police, I have, with my own eyes, seen too many abuses by TSOs. It's not all TSOs, not even most TSOs. It's just a few bad apples, but I see no evidence that they are dealt with.

As you should. Please stay safe and thank you for your good work.