Supreme Court on Bus Searches
The Supreme Court seems to take away another civil right with each new decision. Pillsbury is correct; Florida bus sweeps do not fit our vision of a constitutional America.
Next Dec. 15, Bill of Rights Day, is the 200th anniversary of the execution of these ageless Fourth Amendment words:
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath/affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched. . . .”
Nine supreme conservative jurist-”legislators” may someday decree America must conquer the drug problem by reinterpreting (judicial review) the Fourth Amendment into oblivion.
Must Fourth Amendment rights in an age of random bus/plane passenger police sweeps be printed in boldface on the back of every transit ticket?
One asserts due process rights by saying “no” to warrantless police officer questioning and searches. On a bus or plane this means being publicly humiliated, singled out, viewed as an object of suspicion at best or hauled off the bus/plane and given a billy-club attitude adjustment at worst.
Good legal minds must examine the judicial policy choices we face. A constitutional police state is surely no joke.
BILL ROBINSON
West Covina
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