"luggage subject to search"

[hankrausch]

I just set down in Covington, Ga for the night and there is a sign on the fence, "pilots & passengers must be escorted to the plane" and another one "luggage subject to search". As far as I can tell this is a pretty low-key field, there do not seem to be any scheduled flights, and it is un-towered. And there isn't any escorting of people to their planes going on.

Can anyone really search one's bags? what if I said no?

 

[Jim Logajan]

Can anyone really search one's bags? what if I said no?

I believe anyone working for or on behalf of a government in the U.S. is bound by the 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. So they would need probable cause or a warrant.

But the 4th Amendment doesn't apply to private citizens, so they certainly could try to search your bags - and any evidence of unlawful activities they find could be admitted in any subsequent court proceedings (i.e. exclusionary rule doesn't apply.) I believe it is a case-by-case determination whether there is any wink-and-nod going on between police trying to bypass the exclusionary rule and such a private citizen.

However, it being a public access airport, even if on private property, I believe you could legally say no to any such request by a private person or security guard and even be within your rights to use force to protect yourself and your property. I think any force or search used on you during such a search attempt could be considered battery or trespass by them.

On the other hand, a failure to leave in a reasonable time after a request to leave would probably make you open to losing any lawsuit for trespass.

All IMVHO.