From an article in the NY Times I quoted in another thread, there is this sentence:

"And the X-ray and magnetometer checks at airports are not considered searches under the law."

If the x-ray is not a search, then will the TSA require that everyone go through one of those machines that look at you naked just as you are forced to go through the WTMD?

I would go along with that. The purpose is to deter hijackings by doing more than just a cursory glance but without the very expensive/time consuming searches (as in, physical searches).

That's why it's called "screening" not "searching". There really is a difference between an X-ray and a hand search, and likewise a walk-through metal detector versus a pat-down/groping.

I wonder what the jurisprudence behind that characterization is? One would think that it would likewise allow them to snoop in on and record your conversations in line and at the checkpoints, or elsewhere in public, since these aren't "searches," and use those as evidence against you in court, which in general can't be done.

This is something of a gray area. Many Fourth Amendment opinions use an objective "reasonable expectation of privacy" as a standard for the admissibility of some evidence, especially that gathered without the consent and knowledge of the target. If you are in a public place, your reasonable expectation of privacy with respect to conversations is lower than if you are in your home. This is analogous to the plain view doctrine. Likewise, viewing real estate from above is not contrary to 4th Amendment. These concepts all relate to expectations of privacy.

As a nation, we have previously held at least our persons off limits to scrutiny by the state, absent fairly compelling reasons. Backscatter X-ray is another close question. I think that the radiation issue will preclude use of this technology, thus avoiding resolution of the 4th Amendment issues. Perhaps nuclear magnetic resonance imaging will emerge as a non-intrusive method to screen passengers.

Nope -- there's radiation from that, too. It's still bombarding you with particles, just different ones. In this case it's high-frequency radio, not X-rays. In any event, it's been renamed in the vernacular to MRI. We can't have the word "nuclear" in there and keep the populace happy, now can we?

MRI use on people with tattoos or metal (metal fillaments) in their body can or cannot be done safely? I thought it was considered unsafe.

I did some research into the 4th admendment.

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Constitution of the United States, Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

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Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, � 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.

Warrantless searches are permitted when they are of a kind that the courts have found to be reasonable (as by being limited) or when they are prompted by a level of suspicion or belief (as reasonable suspicion or probable cause) that is consistent with the level of intrusion of the search. Some searches have been found to be so intrusive that a court hearing is required before the search is permitted.

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What does the "unreasonable" mean? I think it clearly means under what conditions a warrant may be issued. As I have found in the predecessors of amendment IV, listed below, I have come to the conclusion that any search or seizure without a warrant is unreasonable as well as general or illegal warrants.

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New York Ratification of Constitution
26 July 1788 Elliot 1:327--31

That every freeman has a right to be secure from all unreasonable searches and seizures of his person, his papers, or his property; and therefore, that all warrants to search suspected places, or seize any freeman, his papers, or property, without information, upon oath or affirmation, of sufficient cause, are grievous and oppressive; and that all general warrants (or such in which the place or person suspected are not particularly designated) are dangerous, and ought not to be granted.

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Maryland Constitution of 1776, Declaration of Rights, art. 23
Thorpe 3:1688

That all warrants, without oath or affirmation, to search suspected places, or to seize any person or property, are grievous and oppressive; and all general warrants--to search suspected places, or to apprehend suspected persons, without naming or describing the place, or the person in special--are illegal, and ought not to be granted.

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Virginia Declaration of Rights, sec. 10 12 June 1776

X That general warrants, whereby any officer or messenger may be commanded to search suspected places without evidence of a fact committed, or to seize any person or persons not named, or whose offense is not particularly described and supported by evidence, are grievous and oppressive and ought not to be granted.

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Massachusetts Constitution of 1780, PT. 1, ART. 14
Thorpe 3:1891

XIV. Every subject has a right to be secure from all unreasonable searches, and seizures of his person, his houses, his papers, and all his possessions. All warrants, therefore, are contrary to this right, if the cause or foundation of them be not previously supported by oath or affirmation; and if the order in the warrant to a civil officer, to make search in suspected places, or to arrest one or more suspected persons, or to seize their property, be not accompanied with a special designation of the persons or objects of search, arrest, or seizure: and no warrant ought to be issued but in cases, and with the formalities, prescribed by the laws.

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Federal Farmer, no. 16
20 Jan. 1788 Storing 2.8.196--203

...that all persons shall have a right to be secure from all unreasonable searches and seizures of their persons, houses, papers, or possessions; and that all warrants shall be deemed contrary to this right, if the foundation of them be not previously supported by oath, and there be not in them a special designation of persons or objects of search, arrest, or seizure: and that no person shall be exiled or molested in his person or effects, otherwise than by the judgment of his peers, or according to the law of the land.

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What do you think? Go research it for yourself.

http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/found...s/amendIV.html
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/constpap.htm

Aubie_NoFlyNoMore....welcome to FlyerTalk and the TS/S Forum!
And thanks for providing the research on the 4th amendment.

I've never bothered to read the signs at the security screening lines: do they say that by going past a certain you are consenting to be "screened" or "screened" and "searched"? Or is the reference to "search" avoided by saying your bag may be "inspected" and you may be "patted down" - euphemisims for "search".

My understanding is that this is largely urban legend. Though there have been a few anecdotal reports of people with swelling or minor irritation around their tattoos, experiments have suggested there isn't a problem. The show MythBusters on Discovery Channel tested this and found no backing for the rumor, too.

I am not as sure what having a replacement hip or other joint or large metal pins or screws in one's body will do in an MRI scan; there could possibly be some concern there that would limit its usefulness. Of course, we who have had dental cavities have plenty of metal in our teeth and are able to go through MRIs without a problem.

I suspect though that other issues will make MRIs prohibitive in use in a security setting. They tend to be fairly large and very expensive, for one ... and there are always problems with the intense magnetic field generated. I bet it would wreck your laptop and might even cause problems with pacemakers, etc.

The only issue with MRI is the metal that contains IRON. Iron being magnetic will come out of the skin. Welders and such are not supposed to get MRI. Little fragments of metal will be pulled out of the skin. The machine is probably a drag to clean after this. Plus there have been cases where steel objects with iron have been pulled into the machine. Including but not limited to hand guns and oxygen bottles.

I am not as sure what having a replacement hip or other joint or large metal pins or screws in one's body will do in an MRI scan; there could possibly be some concern there that would limit its usefulness. Of course, we who have had dental cavities have plenty of metal in our teeth and are able to go through MRIs without a problem.
I bet it would wreck your laptop and might even cause problems with pacemakers,


MRI is not an option. The magnet is thousands of times stronger than he earths magnetic field. The gold and silver and mercury fillings in your teeth are not a problem, only iron/steel as a previous writer said.

I worked near one once, you leave your steel tools and your wallet in your car. The magnetic field will erase your credit card stripe, which means goodbye hard drive and floppies in your laptop. Everyone has 100% backup at home, right?

Older implants were stainless steel, many now are titanium. But stainless steel screws are common. Stainless steel is slightly magnetic. Been in a war? Those steel scraps are coming out! The stainless wire cage around your artificial heart valve? Ouch. Your pacemaker? Toast.

A hospital has special all aluminum gurneys to roll patients to the MRI. The new orderly who forgets and rolls a patient up on a steel gurney will lose his load and the hospital will win a big lawsuit from the patient who got sucked into the magnet head first.

Prohibited Items
During an MRI scan, the following items could interfere with the procedure or even become unsafe. Therefore, they are not allowed in the MRI scanning area. You may leave them at home, with family or friends, or in a secure locker which we will provide for you.
� Keys � Metal zippers � Coins
� Watches � Metal buttons � Belt buckles
� Hearing aids � Wallet/money clips � Safety pins
� Jewelry � Pocket knife � Removable dental work
� Glasses � Pens/pencils � Hairpins/barrettes
� Bras with hooks/ underwires � Credit/bank cards (magnetic strip)

Before Your Test Begins
Since a strong magnetic field is always present within the scan room, not all patients should undergo an MRI scan. Please let your physician or the MRI technologist know if you have any of the following:
� Cardiac pacemaker � Shunts � Metal mesh
� Aneurysm clips � Insulin pump � Shrapnel/bullets
� Joint replacement � Electrodes � Orbital prosthesis
� Hearing aid � Cochlear prosthesis � Dentures
� Heart valve prosthesis � IUD � Bone/joint prosthesis
� Neurostimulators (TENS-Unit) � Penile implant

If TSA did use a MRI, all the above would get bypassed.

�I got shrapnel from an American cruise missile while I was in the Republican Guards�

�OK, you can skip the MRI, you don�t seem to be a security risk.�

I don't know about x-rays, but it sounds similar to another case I heard about once, in which houses were targeted for raids due to their heat profiles.. seems that people use grow lamps to grow pot can be detected that way. If I remember correctly, that wasn't seen as search.

That is incorrect; the US Supreme Court said that using thermal imaging (which is passive, it just detects what objects emit) is a search that requires a warrant. The case was Kyllo v. United States (2001).

If using a passive detector is a search, how on earth can an active emitter (X-ray) not be a search? That makes no sense at all.

If the X-rays are not searchs, then what are they?