Reference no: EM13170833

Before non-personnel enter public buildings in the State of Setonia, security officers routinely require them to walk through a metal detector. In addition, all bags, including women's purses, are subject to an external scan designed to detect the presence of weapons. Concerned that the scan is not sufficiently sensitive to detect a well-hidden weapon, security officers in many buildings have taken to removing the contests of all bags as part of the screening process. After numerous complaints from women objecting to the public exposure of private items in their purses, the Setonia legislature enacted a law permitting an invasive search of bags only where the initial scan suggested the presence of a weapon.

The month after the law went into effect, Alice went to the state courthouse in the hope of watching a high-profile trial taking place that day. When she entered, security officers scanned her purse and, after doing so, required her to empty its contents for further inspection. "Why?" Alice asked. "Did you see something suspicious on the scan?" "No," the guard replied. "We just thought you looked kinda shifty." "No problem," Alice replied. "People look through my purse all the time. I do not care. There is nothing personal in there. Knock yourself out." The guards then searched the purse thoroughly, finding a razor blade in a side pocket. They seized it, and charged Alice with attempting to carry a concealed weapon into a public building. If Alice claims that the search of her purse violated her Fourth
Amendment rights, she will likely:

A. Prevail, because the guard did not believe that the purse contained a weapon.
B. Prevail, because the legislature has recognized women's privacy rights in their purses.
C. Fail, because the guard found a razor blade inside the purse.
D. Fail, because Alice did not care if the guards search her purse.