[OT] -- Fry's and other retailers

[Julian M Catchen]

You do not give up your Constitutional rights just because you enter a
building.  Our basic rights are inalienable, they are neither bestowed, nor
taken away, by men or women.

While Fry's may say that you consented to a search of your belongings upon
entering the store, they have no right to detain you, or a legally
enforceable way to force the check if you simply refuse to let them.  To
the best of my knowledge, if they think you have broken a law (i.e. stolen
merchandise) then they can ask you to wait for the police to arrive. Only
the Police have the right to detain you, and only if you are under arrest
(many times this is obfuscated to make people wait when they don't have
to).   If you refuse to allow the check, then they can sue you in civil
court if they really want to.  

Innocent until proven guilty holds because only the Police may arrest you
and charge you with a crime.  In all other cases, if an employer of a store
thinks you violated their polices they must sue you in civil court.  Only
the state has a right to sue you in criminal court.  So, if you sign a
non-disclosure agreement with your employer, and you talk to the media
about something you said you wouldn't, they can't bring criminal charges
against you, only sue you for damages. 

You are only subject to other's rules and regulations if they are willing
to sue you to enforce them.  Or, they can invoke law enforcement and have
them prosecute you criminally if you did something they perceive as really
wrong.

julian

> Innocent until proven guilty is a principle that applies to government
> prosecution and has nothing to do with property rights. It is absolutely
> no
> different than free speech is not a given right while you are employed by
> someone else.
> 
> While it is desirable to wrap yourself with constitutional protections,
> those protections are what you are entitled to when dealing with
> government.
> While you are are on someone elses property, employed by others or even
> posting messages on someone's private forum, you are subject to their
> rules
> and their rights.
> 
> Craig
> 
>