Balancing Security And Liberty

The Washington Post ^ | 01 August 2004 | Charles Moskos

[steve-b]

When you board a plane, both you and your carry-on bags are searched. A civilian employee of the Transportation Security Administration may open and search your checked luggage as well. Although primarily looking for security threats, workers report any illegal or suspicious objects to a supervisor or law enforcement agent, even if the object represents no danger to the flight.

Two legal concepts allow both you and your bags to be searched despite the Constitution's protection against unreasonable search and seizure. By being in an airport and trying to board a plane, the Supreme Court says, you have given "implied consent" to being searched. The "plain view" principle, according to the court, states that whatever law enforcement legally finds, feels or sees -- even if unrelated to the original investigation or search -- is fair game for arrest and prosecution....

The solution -- the balancing of public safety with constitutional liberties -- is surprisingly simple. The only way to prevent creeping use of implied consent is to limit the doctrine of plain view. Before searching a person, the government must choose either plain view or implied consent. If the government must search without probable cause, let it search, but only for illegal weapons or bombs. If security outweighs the Fourth Amendment, the scope of such searches must be limited to objects representing a clear and present danger to public safety. Any unrelated suspicious or illegal objects found must be ignored...

[steve-b]

The proposed solution seems like an elegant and sensible way to maintain the ability to conduct security searches when they are legitimately necessary while preventing it from growing into police-state harassment.

[Chode]

i remember when it was just guns or butter

[2nd_Amendment_Defender]

The regulations have gotten out of hand. We cannot allow the killer fingernail clippers or knitting needles on an airplane. Can you imagine someone trying to hijack a plane with fingernail clippers?

Stay back or I'll clip your eyelashes off!