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0 pointstptacek13y ago0 comments

Nobody will cheer more loudly than I will if SCOTUS holds that electronic strip searches cross the line from "reasonable" to "unreasonable", but I don't know of a credible constitutional law source that predicts that they will do that, so baldly asserting that these searches are prima facie unconstitutional is a losing argument.

The case you've cited here is one where the 9th circuit held TSA's searches to be reasonable.

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2 comments · 2 top-level

jpxxx13y ago

No, this case I've cited specifically says that magnetometer wanding and a pat-down over a duration of 18 minutes in search of a suspected weapon is a constitutionally reasonable administrative search.

My beef is with mandatory -custody- searches, which are implemented as either electronic/radioactivity scans of the entire flesh and/or full physical inspections of the body. These were not in use prior to the TSA's inception and nobody has ruled on whether they are constitutionally reasonable or not.

dalke13y ago

Heartily agree. The Circuit Courts seem to be in agreement, and the Supreme Court has declined to review appeals on this topic which were sent to them. This suggests that there is no Constitutional issue here which needs a decision.

Or in other words - NYC passed a law prohibiting the sale of sugary drinks over 16 ounces in size. To the best of my knowledge, the Supreme Court has never made a decision on if that action is Constitutional. And I strongly doubt that it ever will. Does that mean the legality of the new law is under doubt? Absolutely not.

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