Acidus wrote:
Tom: Basically the Supreme Court rules that 4th ammendment doesn't apply to searches that a custom offical does when you come back to the US, because you aren't in the US yet.

OK, so, the actual answer is you are in the U.S. and the Fourth Amendment does "apply." It just doesn't have much force. The reason is that the first congress passed a rule allowing random searches at borders but restricting domestic searches a few months before they passed the 4th amendment. Other laws apply with the same force they usually do, but the 4th amendment has less force. Ultimately, the reason why is because that's how they've always done it.

RE: Tom and Billy: On Border Security