Originally Posted by
bocastephen
Sorry, that's not codified anywhere as law. It might be your employer's definition, but A) absent the police interfering, you can't stop me from leaving, and B) that is not the generally accepted definition of where the sterile area begins
The Courts might have improperly supported the contention that consent cannot be withdrawn AFTER you've gone through the WTMD or the bag has gone through the xray, but there is no way they can enforce consent before that action has occurred, since you haven't had a chance to 'see' inside the bag or scan the person for metal objects.
Not the generally accepted definition? It is written through federal regulation (USC 49 CFR & 1540.5) that the sterile area includes the security checkpoint, that is why the 9th ruled the way it did with US v. Aukai. I'm not sure if you are making reference to sitting in the "slot" as StySlo mentioned, but once you initiate screening by either (a) placing your bags on the x-ray or (b) walking through the WTMD, you are not free to exit the screening area before the search is complete. You are correct regarding what a TSO can and cannot do, but you can bet that once a LEO gets on scene, we will stop and investigate, including a search of your bags and/or person.
As far as sitting in a "slot," if the bags have not been placed, nor the passenger gone through the WTMD, I would say they are still free to leave.
Straight from the code mentioned above:
Sterile area means a portion of an airport defined in the airport security program that provides passengers access to boarding aircraft and
to which the access generally is controlled by TSA, or by an aircraft operator under part 1544 of this chapter or a foreign air carrier under part 1546 of this chapter,
through the screening of persons and property.