Quote:
Originally Posted by TWIFOSP
I think I'm going to become a TSA "agent", just so I can confiscate tons of cool gear and sell it on e-bay. I'll make a fortune. "I'm sorry sir, your digital camera, PDA, portable cd player, and notebook all could be bombs. I'm going to have to take that." -- "Will I get it back" -- "Hahahahah!" -- "No seriously, that's my property, I want it back!" -- "Then I suggest you start bidding, sucker!".
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Actually, not a single person on this thread has bothered to note that with the devices being provable to function as described not returning them is a (technical) violation of the 4th Amendment, for the seizure would be unreasonable due to the goods being of no true security risks (OK, why have most of my posts on this forum lately been about legal standings??)
This is why they made you fill out the forms for identification of the materials, GS. Technically, according to the highest law of the land, once the goods have been proven to have been confiscated under wrong pretenses they are required to be returned to you.
However, they assume that since almost nobody knows their Constitutional rights in this regards they can just seize them (illegally) and sell them for governmental purposes and everyone will just sit on their hands.
Sure, this is a bit of a grey area but at the end, in court, it is most likely that the issue would be found in your favor. The TSA's were too aggressive in the confiscation (they allowed the Walkmen of the passengers on, didn't they?? So why were those "electronic boxes" of a lower risk?? ) for a simple functionality test would have proven the device were as you claimed.
Some TSA agent's little ego was a bit out of control that day, apparently.
Stick it to them, hold to those claim forms, and make them return those goods which they "confiscated" but have no legal "seizure" rights to.