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Question: Tom is caught shoplifting at the local Walmart store in Annapolis, MD. - Was the search of Tom and his backpack constitutional? Why or why not?

04 Oct 2022,1:04 AM

 

Tom is caught shoplifting at the local Walmart store in Annapolis, MD. He is being held by store security until a police officer arrives. The officer initially intended to issue a summons to Tom and release him thereafter. However, as required by departmental policy, the officer checked Tom for any outstanding warrants prior to his release. Sure enough, Tom was wanted a felony arrest warrant for burglary in Baltimore, MD. Tom is arrested on the warrant. The arresting officer then searched Tom. Tom was told to empty out all of his pockets, which included several personal items and his wallet. Tom also had a backpack with him which the security officer had retained. The police officer opened the backpack and unzipped every compartment and removed every item. This included opening two small containers and an additional zippered pouch. The officer found cocaine in both small containers. The officer charged Tom with illegal possession of narcotics.

Was the search of Tom and his backpack constitutional? Why or why not?

Expert answer

 

Tom was caught shoplifting at the local Walmart store in Annapolis, MD. The store security guards stopped him and searched both him and his backpack. Tom argues that the search was unconstitutional because it was conducted without a warrant and without his consent.

 

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. However, this protection does not extend to searches conducted by private individuals, such as store security guards. Therefore, the search of Tom and his backpack by the Walmart security guards was constitutional.

 

There are some exceptions to the general rule that private searches are constitutional. One exception is if the search is conducted in a manner that would violate the reasonable expectation of privacy of a reasonable person. For example, if the security guards had conducted a strip search of Tom or had searched his backpack in a public area where others could see, then the search might have been found to be unconstitutional .............. 

Another exception to the general rule is if the private search is conducted at the request of or with the assistance of law enforcement. In this case, the search would be subject to the same constitutional restrictions as a search conducted by law enforcement. However, there is no evidence that the Walmart security guards were acting at the request of or with the assistance of law enforcement in this case.

 

Based on the above, it is clear that the search of Tom and his backpack by the Walmart security guards was constitutional.

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