法律英语：112 Search Bags Without a Warrant

by Adam Freedman

I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about the legality of searches conducted by police and airport screeners.  For example, Brett writes in to ask whether being stopped at a police checkpoint constitutes an illegal search. Another reader, Xin, asks whether a TSA (Transportation Security Administration) search of one’s luggage at the airport would violate the Constitution. And Daniel from New York City writes to complain about that city’s policy of searching the bags of randomly² selected subway riders. “Am I mistaken,” he writes, “or does the Fourth Amendment³ still protect a person in the subway?”
Why Is It Legal to Search Bags Without a Warrant?
These are great questions. And Daniel, you’re not mistaken, the Fourth Amendment does apply to people on the subway generally – but random¹ security searches have been upheld as exceptions to the Fourth Amendment’s requirements. In a minute, I’ll discuss the reasons why these searches are considered lawful⁴ and whether you can refuse to be searched.
The Fourth Amendment Usually Requires a Warrant
The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution protects the right of the people to be secure against “unreasonable searches and seizures⁵.”  Generally speaking, that means that neither federal nor state officials can search you, your clothing, your bags, your house, your car--and so on--unless they have a search warrant supported by “probable cause.”
Most of us consider that to be a very good thing. After all, who wants the FBI barging into their house unannounced?  Not that they don’t do a great job, but I’m told they make an awful mess and never use coasters.
Why Are Airport Searches Legal?
But wait. Let’s say you’re at the airport ready to board a flight. Sure, the security lines are long, but don’t you want everyone to go through the metal detector⁶?  And don’t you want all the bags to be screened?  Well, if the TSA had to go to a judge and get a search warrant for every single passenger, your flight would be delayed even longer than it already is. In fact, air travel as we know it simply wouldn’t work.
But of course, the TSA does not have to get a warrant--and that’s because airport searches fall into the so-called “special needs exception” to the Fourth Amendment. This doctrine⁷ comes from the Supreme⁸ Court’s 1985 decision in New Jersey⁹ v. TLO , in which the Court recognized that there are certain “exceptional circumstances . . . beyond the need for normal law enforcement [that] make the warrant and probable cause requirement impractical¹⁰.”
The special needs exception applies to searches that serve purposes other than the ordinary evidence gathering¹¹ associated with crime investigations¹². In other words, the special needs exception doesn’t apply to the Special Victims Unit--or any other crime solving unit.
Airport Screening and Other Random Searches are Allowed
The special needs exception has been used to uphold airport luggage screening as well as random airport searches, highway sobriety checkpoints, border patrol checkpoints, and student searches in school (a topic that I addressed in an earlier article ). Courts evaluate searches on a case-by-case basis, balancing the government’s need for the search versus¹³ the extent of the intrusion on individual privacy.
Considering these factors, in 2006 the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld New York’s program of random subway baggage searches because it serves a “special need,” namely, to deter¹⁴ terrorists from bringing explosives on to the subway.
Can I Refuse to be Searched?
Can you refuse to submit to a special needs search?  The answer, I’m afraid, is yes and no. In New York City, you can refuse, but only if you agree to leave the subway. So if you’re in a hurry to get where you’re going, that might not be an appealing option. Likewise, in an airport setting, your only means of refusing a search will generally be to leave the airport and thus skip your flight. And not even that choice is guaranteed.  A number of courts have recently held that once passengers are in the airport screening process, they can’t change their minds about being searched, even if they’ve been singled out for a more extensive search.
So long as you’re polite and orderly, you can certainly try to refuse a random search at the airport, subway, or police checkpoint, but depending on the circumstances, you might not be allowed to refuse, or you might have to forgo¹⁵ whatever travel plans you had for that day. In any event, you should abide¹⁶ by whatever the police or TSA officials tell you. Otherwise, you could get into legal trouble and also cause some serious delays for the passengers behind you in the security line--and with my luck, I’ll be one of them.
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1 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

2 randomly   

adv.随便地，未加计划地

参考例句：

• Within the hot gas chamber, molecules are moving randomly in all directions. 在灼热的气体燃烧室内，分子在各个方向上作无规运动。 来自辞典例句
• Transformed cells are loosely attached, rounded and randomly oriented. 转化细胞则不大贴壁、圆缩并呈杂乱分布。 来自辞典例句

3 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。

4 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

5 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

6 detector   

n.发觉者，探测器

参考例句：

• The detector is housed in a streamlined cylindrical container.探测器安装在流线型圆柱形容器内。
• Please walk through the metal detector.请走过金属检测器。

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 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

9 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

10 impractical   

adj.不现实的，不实用的，不切实际的

参考例句：

• He was hopelessly impractical when it came to planning new projects.一到规划新项目，他就完全没有了实际操作的能力。
• An entirely rigid system is impractical.一套完全死板的体制是不实际的。

11 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

12 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

13 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

14 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

15 forgo   

v.放弃，抛弃

参考例句：

• Time to prepare was a luxuary he would have to forgo.因为时间不够，他不得不放弃做准备工作。
• She would willingly forgo a birthday treat if only her warring parents would declare a truce.只要她的父母停止争吵，她愿意放弃生日宴请。

16 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。