TSA checked baggage screeners found firearms in defendant\u2019s checked luggage which had not been declared as required by federal law. There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in luggage checked with an airline because it can be searched to prevent terrorist attacks. United States v. Esteban Alcapone Rosario, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 107576 (N.D. Ga. September 21, 2011):<\/p>\n
The Magistrate Judge’s second conclusion regarding the search of Defendant’s suitcase in Puerto Rico is clearly correct. Given the widely-understood need to prevent terrorist attacks, airline travelers know that their checked bags are subject to routine searches such that Defendant cannot demonstrate that he had an expectation of privacy with respect to his checked suitcase. Moreover, pursuant to 49 C.F.R. \u00a7 1544.203, all checked baggage is subject to search, and all airline passengers must consent to a search of their luggage as a condition of the airline accepting it. Under Tariff Rule 190.B.1 of the Delta Domestic General Rules Tariff, available at http:\/\/www.delta.com\/legal\/contract_of_carriage\/index.jsp, Defendant agreed that, as a condition of Delta’s accepting his baggage for transport, his baggage was subject to inspection.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This holding could have been a lot more narrow and achieved the same result; i.e., the CTX machine revealing firearms and the lack of declaration of firearms, the search of the bags was reasonable. TSA does not have general law enforcement authority to search luggage for evidence of a crime. So, how does an undeclared gun in checked baggage out of one’s hands potentially facilitate an airplane hijacking?<\/p>\n
Note the defendant’s unfortunate middle name to go with the unfortunately overbroad holding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
b2evALnk.b2WPAutP Continue reading