Domestic This - Horace Mann School

Domestic
seizures. John Wesley Hall, a prominent criminal
defense lawyer focusing on the search and seizure
laws said, “for Fourth Amendment purposes, you
can’t touch somebody like this unless you’re checking
them into a jail or you’ve got reasonable suspicion
that they’ve got a gun.” The issue raises a component
of interpretation of the Fourth Amendment
that is guaranteed to be deliberated throughout the
judicial system.
However, the United States must uphold the ultimate
responsibility of maintaining an equilibrium,
defined by the balance between security and preserving
liberties. The groin checks and nude images
generated by the body scanners tip the balance unevenly
towards security. There is a fine line between
keeping Americans safe from danger and invading
their privacy. A full body search, a touch that anywhere
else would be considered sexual assault could
certainly constitute for crossing that line. (If only
the TSA dimmed the lights and played soft music
at the checkpoints, it would be the perfect date.)
Whether the new regulations are to be deemed unconstitutional
remains unsettled and probably will
for years. But when the government entrusts TSA
agents to fondle an elderly woman or a young boy
it raises the question whether the government has
violated American’s rights, and unjustly permitted
security to overshadow freedom.
The U.S. is handing Osama Bin Laden a victory
to his nefarious intentions with the intrusive patdowns
and body scanners. He has succeeded in diminishing
American’s rights, perverting the American
system of liberty.
The government must do everything in their
power to defend America against a repeat of September
11th as terrorism is certainly a very realistic
threat. However, our civil liberties should not just
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