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Originally Posted by Punisher_1
So if we are to be searched for this event what about the next parade or carnival? Is there a number of people present rule for searching people in a public place. It used to be you had to have something that brought suspicion like time of day or an activity the person was engaged in not just being there.
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Well, as has been mentioned, the right protected by the Fourth Amendment is to be secure from
unreasonable search. So if some governmental authority wants to routinely search the bags, coolers or persons of people attending some public event, if the searches are challenged the governmental authority will have the burden of convincing a judge that the searches are reasonable.
There has been a pretty fair amount of litigation of the question of the reasonableness of searches under various circumstances. So there's a good deal of decisional law about when a search is, or is not, reasonable. And judges will look to that body of decisional law when trying to decide if a particular search requirement is, or is not, reasonable.
I'm not, however, going to do many hours of research and then write what would amount to a law review article discussing in detail the existing legal standards for determining the reasonableness of a search at a public event.