Reply #109: You brought up the consent issue not me [View All]

You demonstrated that you don't understand that the meaning of consent in the law.

As far as the relevance to the search of private property without a warrant, my legal opinion is that entry into private property such as a church, mosque or temple, by government to conduct a search is presumptively unlawful. I never heard of a legal doctrine where consent to search inside a religious institution is presumed for police or other government agencies. Relevant to this consideration is the fact that expectancy of privacy in a church and the freedom from government intrusion during worship is great.

Again, the existence of enclosures is relevant. I don't agree that churches or mosques, or any other religious building or enclosure is open to the public. In fact, many religious institutions post security guards and no trespassing signs these days. If one enters a religious property for legimate religious purposes or functions related to that facility in good faith, then a license to enter exists. If one is a member of that church community, then one is an invited guest. An univited law enforcement official entering an enclosed religious facility to search is a trespasser without a warrant unless there is a REASONABLE belief that a crime has been or is being committed and an exigency exists that does not permit the issuance of a warrant. In that case why enter under disguise? A law enforcement official or other agent entering for the purpose of search is not effectively getting consent to enter or search by acting deceitfully.

There is a difficult question of standing to oppose the illegal search and to what purpose the search is being conducted. If no one is prosecuted as a result of the search, what is the remedy for the religious community? An injunction probably. Better yet, a Congressional investigation. How practical is this when the unlawful domestic activities of the putative national security agency is concealed by the "top secret" designation? If the government can't detect radiation or other particulates in the public domain, tough luck, get a warrant. Intelligence data usually does not meet the reasonable suspicion standard.

The real problem here is emerging tyranny.