1 / 8

AIRPORT SEARCHES

AIRPORT SEARCHES. Bryan R. Lemons Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (912) 267-2945 blemons@fletc.treas.gov. United States v. Albarado 495 F.2d 799 (2d. Cir. 1974).

adamdaniel
Download Presentation

AIRPORT SEARCHES

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. AIRPORT SEARCHES Bryan R. Lemons Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (912) 267-2945 blemons@fletc.treas.gov

  2. United States v. Albarado495 F.2d 799 (2d. Cir. 1974) “Depriving a hijacker of his weapon is critical, because by means of a weapon like a pistol or even a knife the hijacker may literally turn the plane itself into a weapon, threatening not only those within it, but those on the ground as well. In short, the plane may become a weapon of mass destruction that no ordinary person would have any way of obtaining except through a hijacking.”

  3. JUSTIFYING AIRPORT SEARCHES • Administrative Searches • Terry Searches - Terry “frisks” • Consent Searches

  4. ADMINISTRATIVE SEARCHES • Requirements. The search must be … - In furtherance of an administrative purpose (to deter potential hijackers) … - And not to discover contraband or evidence unrelated to that purpose. “Screening searches of airline passengers are conducted as part of a general regulatory scheme in furtherance of an administrative purpose ….” United States v. Davis, 482 F.2d 893 (9th Cir. 1973)

  5. TERRY SEARCHES • Requirements: Reasonable suspicion suspect is presently armed and dangerous. “Tragic experience has taught us more than once that such deterrence must begin before the hijacker is about to step onto the plane.” United States v. Moreno, 475 F.2d 44 (5th Cir. 1973)

  6. TERRY SEARCHES • Boarding Gate: Search is allowed on mere or unsupported suspicion. • General Airport Area: Reasonable suspicion is required. “We note a sharp distinction between a search conducted at an airport boarding gate and the search of certain persons in the general airport area.” United States v. Wehrli, 637 F.2d 408 (5th Cir. 1981).

  7. CONSENT SEARCHES • Requirements. Consent must be … - Voluntary - Actual or Apparent Authority “It is well-settled that one of the specifically established exceptions to the requirements of both a warrant and probable cause is a search that is conducted pursuant to consent.” Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218 (1973)

  8. CONSENT SEARCHES • Generally: Passenger must be given the opportunity to avoid the search by refusing to fly. • However … once bags are submitted for examination, the right to refuse consent ends. “To avoid a search, a passenger must elect not to fly before placing his bag on the x-ray belt.” Torbet v. United Airlines, 298 F.3d 1087 (9th Cir. 2002)

More Related