The 4th Amendment, the California Constitution, and Pat Down Searches at Sporting Events as a Matter of Law

By Matthew Carlson and William Kruse, Esq.   Introduction   The National Football League’s pat down policy requires inspection of bags and physical pat downs for the purpose of detecting explosive devices; many individual clubs have their own search policy as well. These operations are of course warrantless, so there are inevitably delicate issues with the 4th Amendment’s constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, as well as State constitutional right