法律英语：65 Store Security and Your Rights

by Michael W. Flynn

First, a disclaimer: Although I am an attorney, the legal information in this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for seeking personalized legal advice from an attorney licensed¹ to practice in your jurisdiction². Further, I do not intend to create an attorney-client relationship with any listener.

Today’s topic is searches by security guards at retail³ stores. Jesse wrote:

My question for you is regarding my rights when exiting a store after paying for the items I obtained there. Some stores, such as Best Buy and Costco, stop their customers when they are exiting the store, demanding to see a receipt for the items purchased. I feel that this is somehow violating my rights, as I have already purchased the items and do not have any obligation to prove to a "bouncer" that I am not shoplifting. I also feel that it may be inappropriate, as I may not want someone at the door examining what I bought in front of other customers.
Jesse, you are not alone. Large stores such as Best Buy seem to search every customer as they exit, regardless of the value or size of the purchase. This can be annoying and embarrassing.

First, it is important to identify what is not at issue here: the Fourth Amendment⁴. As I discussed in previous episodes, the Fourth Amendment generally allows people to be free from unreasonable⁵ searches and seizures⁶. But, this protection only applies to conduct by the government and its agents. This is known in constitutional law as the “state action” doctrine⁷, and generally means that, unless the government takes action, the protections afforded by the Constitution are not implicated⁸. Police officers are agents of the government, and when they act, your Fourth Amendment rights kick in.

So, if a police officer stopped you as you walked out of the store without sufficient reasons, then you would be able to invoke⁹ the protections of the Fourth Amendment against the search. However, because the security guard at Best Buy is not an agent of the government, the Fourth Amendment does not apply. The security guard is not compelled to abide¹⁰ by Fourth Amendment requirements, including the need for a warrant or probable cause to search. His search does not violate your Fourth Amendment rights.

But, there are some other ways that a security guard’s search could give rise to a lawsuit¹¹. The first is the tort of invasion of privacy. In most states, you can sue a store if an employee intentionally¹² intrudes¹³ into your privacy, and that intrusion would be highly offensive to a reasonable person.

For example, if the security guard stopped you, pulled out your calendar, and read to the line of waiting customers that you had an appointment for a colonic and then a trip to your psychiatrist¹⁴ coming up, you would have a pretty good case. But, you are not likely to prevail where Best Buy simply peeks¹⁵ into your bag and checks your receipt to ensure that you paid for the items you are carrying out. This is because your privacy rights are not very great where you have, in public, pulled items off a shelf and given them to a cashier to scan. Many members of the public have seen you purchasing the items, so you cannot really assert that your purchase is private. Further, simply looking in your bag and at your receipt for a short moment is not considered by most to be a “highly offensive” act.

On the other hand, an Alaska court noted¹⁶ that if a security guard stopped you, made you take out all the items in your bag or purse, placed them in public view, and detained you for a long period of time, your claim would be stronger.

You also might have a claim under the tort of false imprisonment¹⁷. In most states, you can sue a store if you can show that they deprived you of your liberty without your consent and without legal justification¹⁸. This normally arises when you are suspected of shoplifting, and a store manager or security guard prevents you from leaving the store without first searching your bags.

Typically, this type of case will turn on how reasonable it was for the store to detain you. For example, if a store manager thinks he sees you taking a camera off the shelf and putting it in your bag, the manager can detain you long enough to search your bag to determine if, in fact, you have the camera. If the manager forces you to stay longer, then he is acting¹⁹ less reasonably because he no longer has a valid²⁰ reason to believe that you stole something.

Aside from the invasion of privacy and false imprisonment torts, it is important to recognize that a store may not detain or search people for an otherwise unlawful purpose. For example, a store cannot maintain a policy where a security guard searches only racial minorities. That policy would violate equal protection principles, and would not be based on any reasonable purpose.

Another cause of action in this situation is for slander²¹ or libel. You could sue the store for slander if the manager said something about you that is both false and defamatory in front of other people, which results in an injury to your reputation. Libel is the same thing for statements that are written instead of spoken. For example, if the manager pointed²² at you in a large crowd and said, “You just stole a camera—you are a thief!” you might be able to sue for slander if you were fired from your job the next day because your boss thinks you are a thief.

All of these causes of action are difficult to prove, and your recovery is not likely to be large in most cases. Again, the quick and dirty tip is just to comply with the security guard, and if you feel the store’s policy is overbearing, take your business elsewhere............

You can send questions and comments to............or call them in to the voice-mail line at 206-202-4LAW. Please note that doing so will not create an attorney-client relationship and will be used for the purposes of this podcast only.

Legal Lad's theme music is "No Good Layabout" by Kevin MacLeod.

 

1 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

2 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

3 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

4 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

5 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

6 seizures   

n.起获( seizure的名词复数 )；没收；充公；起获的赃物

参考例句：

• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year. 今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Other causes of unconsciousness predisposing to aspiration lung abscess are convulsive seizures. 造成吸入性肺脓肿昏迷的其他原因，有惊厥发作。 来自辞典例句

7 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

8 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 invoke   

v.求助于(神、法律)；恳求，乞求

参考例句：

• Let us invoke the blessings of peace.让我们祈求和平之福。
• I hope I'll never have to invoke this clause and lodge a claim with you.我希望我永远不会使用这个条款向你们索赔。

10 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

11 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

12 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

13 intrudes   

v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的第三人称单数 )；把…强加于

参考例句：

• An outraged movie like Stone's intrudes upon a semipermanent mourning. 像斯通这种忿忿不平的电影侵犯到美国人近乎永恒的哀悼。 来自互联网
• He intrudes upon our hospitality. 他硬要我们款待他。 来自互联网

14 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

15 peeks   

n.偷看，窥视( peek的名词复数 )v.很快地看( peek的第三人称单数 )；偷看；窥视；微露出

参考例句：

• A freckle-face blenny peeks from its reef burrow in the Solomon Islands. 奇特的海生物图片画廊。一只斑点面容粘鱼窥视从它的暗礁穴在所罗门群岛。 来自互联网
• She peeks at her neighbor from the curtain. 她从窗帘后面窥视她的邻居。 来自互联网

16 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

17 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

18 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

19 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

20 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

21 slander   

n./v.诽谤，污蔑

参考例句：

• The article is a slander on ordinary working people.那篇文章是对普通劳动大众的诋毁。
• He threatened to go public with the slander.他威胁要把丑闻宣扬出去。

22 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。