Bond v. United States

Under Katz, a search can be defined as a government intrusion on a reasonable expectation of privacy. The government argued that the defendant did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy because he exposed his container to the public. The defendant could not prevent any other member of the public from handling the container. Therefore, he should not have the ability to complain when the government does.

However, the Court found this does not mean that introducing items into the public allows others to manipulate the property. It is true that fellow passengers and bus employees may handle the containers found in the overhead bin. However, the defendant would not have expected anyone to “feel the bag in an exploratory manner.” The Border Patrol agent exceeded the scope of what the public could have been expected to do (which went beyond merely viewing or engaging in incidental contact), thereby intruding on the defendant’s reasonable expectation of privacy.