[fabsroman]

"Fabs, so what your saying is its ok for cops to search whatever they deem necessary to solve a crime? If I remember correctly, your wife is a pharmacist? Should they come up short sometime, is it ok for the cops to detain your wife and frisk her, make her pee in a cup and search her car and purse? Is that ok with you? I mean hell, its just a short search to make sure shes not the culprit. Nothing personal."

Okay, now it is getting personal, even though you say it isn't. I never answered your question about the coach not being searched because I overlooked it. However, you have yet to provide any serious facts about the actual length of detention or the extent of the search even though I have asked twice. Yeah, the coach should have been a suspect too, but that really has nothing to do with what happened to your son and the rest of the kids. Would you have been okay with the entire thing if the coach was detained and searched too. Probably not, so that question is rather irrelevant. So, how about some details here about what actually happened, or do you plan on continuing to act like the media does and only provide us with enough facts to get us riled up and on you and your son's side? How far did the actual search go? Was it a mere emptying of the pockets and a search of bookbags and lockers? Did the security guard actually put his hands on your son? Was it an actual pat down where private parts were touched? Was it a strip search? Was it a cavity search? How long was the detention? Minutes? Hours? Days? I don't think you have provided any of that information.

So, my analogy about adults driving expensive cars is off point, but your analogy about my wife having to pee in a cup is on point? Do you mean to tell me that your son had such an invasive search performed. If so, I will sympathize with you. To clear something up, my wife had to piss in a cup before they would hire her at Target as a pharmacist, she signed an agreement stating that she was subject to random drug tests and would be fired if she turned up positive, and they do count all the narcotics every so often and if there is a substantial amount missing they do get into trouble.

Now, I'll try to make my analogy about the kid having every right to bring the watch to school a little more on point for you. I have seen numerous threads on here about treestands being stolen out of trees and even read a post about somebody's trophy mount being stolen from a tree it was hanging on in his backyard. I have also had a friend of mine's decoys stolen out of the field when he went to lunch. Yes, these people were naive to think that they could leave these things out and find them again, just like this kid was naive about wearing that kind of watch to school; however, I dare you to tell me that people shouldn't have the right to leave their stands in the woods and expect to find them the next day, that they shouldn't have the right to leave their decoys in the field when they go to lunch, or that I shouldn't have the right to leave something in my car and expect to find it in my car the next day. Again, this kid had every right to bring that watch to school, whether it was worth $300 or $50,000, and expect for the rest of the kids to treat it as his property and not steal it. Maybe not the brightest thing in the world to do, but he still had the right to do it. I have the right to leave my house and car unlocked and find everything in it after leaving it for a period of time. Now, that doesn't mean it is the brightest thing to do, but I do have those rights. That would be the right to property. Of course, there is also the right against unreasonable searches and seizures. The question is what is reasonable in this case.

Now, I have taken so much crap on this board about how attorneys are so quick to sue, and my response is usually that we cannot do a single thing without a client running to us wanting to do something in the first place. Andy, you completely fit that bill right now unless the facts are more egregious than I assume they are. Again, you haven't provided them and this hasn't made the national news, so I will have to assume that it isn't a federal case, pun intended. This is probably something that could be cleared up, or at least addressed, by going to a PTA meeting, talking directly to the principal, or writing a letter to the principal. I am dying to hear the facts and what your attorney actually suggests that you do.

Trust me, I don't like being searched one bit. The first time I flew to Florida to visit my in-laws, the metal detector went off. So, the guy was doing the wand test and he was informing me that if the wand went off I would have to go in a back room and remove my clothes so they could determine what the issue was. Lucky for me, the wand didn't go off because it happened to be my belt buckle. On another occassion, the x-ray machine couldn't see through my camera case, so it had to be swabbed by the bomb guys. Another time, while picking my wife up from the airport, I was randomly selected to have my car searched, and while I didn't like it at the time, I now understand it. Every time I fly and the airplane lands safely and I make it out of the airport safely, I am quite happy for the searches. I have also been pulled over late at night and been giving the roadside sobriety test even though I don't drink. I was completely coherent and my speach was completely perfect because I didn't drink a single thing that night, I never ever drive after having an alcohol, and I have never had more than two drinks in a night, so I felt a little pissed off at the time. However, I was 23 back then. Now, with the harm I have seen people cause drinking and driving, I think cars should come standard with an ignition interlock in them and if anybody is ever found guilty of drinking and driving they should be required to use one for the rest of their lives. I also think they should stop traffic on highways and do sobriety checks every once in a while. Nothing like a drunk traveling at 65 mph or more.

"Im all for catching the bad guy, but not for Nazi tactics in doing it. I wish you made the rules for my business though Fabs. I could just shoot em all and let god sort em out with your take on personal rights to get the truth at all costs."

Again, maybe I would side with you if more facts were provided. I am not for Nazi tactics, but what is considered Nazi tactics? Please provide the facts behind your conclusion that the security officer, or whomever that detained your son, was using "Nazi" tactics. Was the Chinese water torture used? Did they put the kids in front of bright lights and question them? Did they try to beat a confession out of them? Did they subject them to sleep deprivation? Did they have them spend long periods of time with no clothes on? Did they make them commit atrocities against their own religion (e.g., were the muslims and jews forced to eat pork)? Again, my analogy about the car and the watch is so far off base, but I'm sure your use of the term "Nazi" is right on point.