S. Myron Klarfeld v. United States of America United States District Court United States Marshal

KOZINSKI, Circuit Judge, with whom Circuit Judges ALARCON, POOLE, HALL, WIGGINS, BRUNETTI, THOMPSON, O'SCANNLAIN, TROTT, T.G. NELSON, and KLEINFELD join, dissent from this order.

KOZINSKI, Circuit Judge, with whom Circuit Judges ALARCON, POOLE, HALL, WIGGINS, BRUNETTI, THOMPSON, O’SCANNLAIN, TROTT, T.G. NELSON and KLEINFELD join, dissenting from the denial of rehearing en banc.

The opinion in this case gives everyone who passes through a security checkpoint the right to haggle about how the screening will be conducted — down to picayune details like whether his shoes will be X-rayed — and to sue in federal court if he doesn’t like the bargain. This ruling conflicts with our precedents, not to mention simple common sense. It cheapens the important values of the Fourth Amendment. It holds judges and lawyers up to public ridicule. And it will surely interfere with the orderly conduct of the many thousands of security screenings that take place in the Ninth Circuit every day.

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The United States courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, like all government buildings nowadays, is considered at risk of terrorist attack. To stem the flow of ordnance into the halls of justice, the United…