Legal Question in Criminal Law in Texas

being searched by department stores

On what grounds do department stores usually discount stores: Costco, Best Buy, Fryes, Walmart, etc. hold the right to physically search their customers, with no reason to believe a crime has been commited, as you leave their place of business? Do the search and seizure laws, which our police are held to not apply to the private secter in regards to merchandise that has been paid for and legally is the property of the person leaving the store?

Thank you,

Gary and Martha Swarm


Asked on 6/02/08, 8:12 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
TC Langford Langford Law Office

Re: being searched by department stores

The answer to your question is a complicated one which has been the subject of numerous treatises, and extensive caselaw. Caselaw interpretation has undergone many changes over the years. Originally, the prohibition against unreasonable search and seizure applied to government only. Over the years, as times have changed, the lines have become blurred. You can google "treatise search and seizure private sector" and get many articles on the topic. Good luck.

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Answered on 6/02/08, 10:58 pm


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