Johnston v. Tampa Sports Authority

Gordon Johnston (plaintiff) owned season tickets to attend the home games of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (club) of the National Football League (NFL). The Tampa Sports Authority (TSA) (defendant) was an agency created by the Florida legislature. The TSA managed the club’s home stadium pursuant to a contract with the club. In September 2005, at the request of the NFL and the club, the TSA required all attendees at the club’s games to submit to pat-down searches before entering the stadium. The TSA hired private screeners to perform the searches. Johnston, who had already paid for his 2005–2006 season tickets (including a seat deposit), objected to being searched, but the club advised Johnston that he would not receive a refund if he refused to be searched. The club further advised Johnston that even if he did receive a refund, he would lose a portion of his seat deposit and suffer other adverse consequences. Johnston subsequently attended several games, allowing himself to be searched while proclaiming that he did not consent. Johnston sued the TSA, alleging that the mandatory, suspicionless searches violated the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. In response, the TSA argued that the searches were constitutional because the need to protect against a terrorist attack qualified for a special-needs exception to the Fourth Amendment. However, the TSA did not provide evidence of a concrete terrorist danger as opposed to the hypothetical risk of an attack. The TSA further argued that the Fourth Amendment did not apply because the searches did not implicate state action and that Johnston impliedly consented to the searches by submitting to them.