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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. The Fourth Amendment and Airports. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23500.
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Legal Research Digest 27 AIRPORT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM Sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration April 2016 THE FOURTH AMENDMENT AND AIRPORTS This report was prepared under ACRP Project 11-01, Topic 05-03, âLegal Aspects of Airport Programs,â for which the Transportation Research Board (TRB) is the agency coordinating the research. The report was prepared by Jodi L. Howick, Howick Law, PLLC. Responsible Senior Program Officer: Marci A. Greenberger Background There are over 4,000 airports in the country and most of these airports are owned by governments. A 2003 survey conducted by Airports Council Internationalâ North America concluded that city ownership accounts for 38 percent, followed by regional airports at 25 per- cent, single county at 17 percent, and multi-jurisdictional at 9 percent. Primary legal services to these airports are, in most cases, provided by municipal, county, and state attorneys. Reports and summaries produced by the Airport Continuing Legal Studies Project and published as ACRP Legal Research Digests are developed to assist these attorneys seeking to deal with the myriad of legal problems encountered during airport development and operations. Such substantive areas as eminent domain, environmental concerns, leasing, contracting, security, insurance, civil rights, and tort liability present cutting- edge legal issues where research is useful and indeed needed. Airport legal research, when conducted through the TRBâs legal studies process, either collects primary data that usually are not available elsewhere or performs analysis of existing literature. Applications The Fourth Amendment is specifically designed to ensure that searches and seizures of property are not conducted arbitrarily. This principle touches the lives of citizens most often when they are traveling. The impact of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution on security restraints at commercial airports is one that calls into question the limits of authority of both the federal govern- ment through the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and state and local law enforcement officials who assist in overseeing security at these airports. The screen- ing of passengers and property at passenger checkpoints at U.S. commercial airports is the responsibility of TSA, with the airport operator assisting as necessary. As respon- sibility shifts from TSA to the local airport operator and law enforcement, there is potential for misunderstandings. This legal digest discusses the Fourth Amendment generally as it pertains to its application to people, houses, papers, and effects. The digest focuses on the application at airports and respective court decisions. It specifically discusses expectations of privacy at airports, airport administrative inspection actions, and law enforcement actions. This digest will assist airport operators by provid- ing the background and application of the Fourth Amend- ment as they review their procedures with their attorneys.
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