Can it really be necessary for border agents to dismantle gas tanks of cars coming across the border? The Bush Administration says yes. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said no. The Supreme Court will decide.

The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to decide if border officers can randomly search gas tanks of vehicles coming into the country, security measures the Bush administration argued are important in the war on drugs and terrorism.

An appeals court had said that officers can visually inspect gas tanks, but not dismantle them unless they have reason to suspect wrongdoing.

...the White House, argued that the decision would make it easier to sneak weapons, drugs and even people into America. On the other side, lawyers said it's unconstitutionally intrusive, and potentially hazardous, for vehicles to be taken apart at border stops.

The Fourth Amendment protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures, but the Supreme Court has held that people entering the United States can be subjected to routine searches without suspicion. At issue here is whether such gas-tank searches are routine, or whether reasonable suspicion is required before a search.

We agree with the defense that:

...there's a difference between dismantling searches with mechanics and routine inspections involving drug dogs, fiber optic scopes or manual steps like tapping on the tank.

Dismantling, which is far more instrusive, should not be performed at the direction and discretion of border agents, absent evidence of wrong-doing. The case is United States v. Flores-Montano, 02-1794.