SAGE Journal Articles

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Journal Article 1Bloss, W. P. (1998). Warrantless search in the law enforcement workplace: Court interpretation of employer practices and employee privacy rights under the Ortega Doctrine. Police Quarterly, 1, 51–69.

URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/stoken/default+domain/BZ6qq2FfqStzdFVbB5uN/full

Abstract: One of the earliest areas of employee Fourth Amendment privacy jurisprudence in the law enforcement workplace was employer warrantless search. In O’Connor v. Ortega (1987), the United States Supreme Court clarified the doctrine permitting public employers to conduct warrantless searches in the workplace. Using federal and state case law, this paper analyzes lower court interpretation and application of the Ortega doctrine regarding employer warrantless search in the law-enforcement workplace. The paper examines current lower court doctrine and discusses allowable warrantless search practices by law enforcement employers. This study concludes that lower courts, relying on a "balancing of competing interests" test between government and individual privacy, have found employer warrantless noncriminal searches permissible because of a diminished employee "expectation of privacy" in the public workplace. Further, in supplanting traditional Fourth Amendment warrant and probable-cause requirements with a reasonableness standard, the courts have expanded law enforcement employer search authority to include areas such as employee offices, desks, briefcases, lockers and government-issued vehicles.

Journal Article 2: Tillyer, R., & Klahm, C., IV. (2011). Searching for contraband: Assessing the use of discretion by police officers. Police Quarterly, 14, 166–185.

URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/stoken/default+domain/iSxE9YwvIAx7VWNqZFAJ/full

Abstract: Over the past 50 years, research on criminal justice decision making has consistently explored the use of discretion by police officers. The general theme of this research has been to argue for limiting officer discretion based on concerns that minority citizens receive unequal and unjustified treatment due to unbridled discretion. A contrasting position suggests that officer discretion may be helpful in achieving effective and efficient outcomes. We explore this debate by empirically assessing the contraband seizure rates generated from mandatory and discretionary searches during officer-initiated traffic stops within a municipal jurisdiction. The findings indicate that Black citizens are twice as likely as White citizens to be discovered with contraband during discretionary searches, but not during mandatory searches. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.