A federal judge has ruled against two Seahawks season-ticket holders who sued the team and Qwest Field over the NFL’s policy of frisking fans before they enter football games. Fred and Kathleen Stark of Skagit County sued in November in U.S. District Court, arguing that pregame pat downs were unconstitutional. The lawsuit argued that since Qwest Field is publicly owned, security officers were violating the Fourth Amendment’s protections against government searches without a warrant or suspicion.
The Starks’ lawsuit named the Seahawks, First & Goal Inc. — the company that operates the stadium — and the Washington State Public Stadium Authority, the public agency that owns the stadium. . .
On June 22, Judge James Robart issued his decision after hearing the defendants’ motion to dismiss the case, which requested a court order barring pat downs at Qwest.
“The Stadium Authority did not participate in the original decision to conduct pat down searches of ticket holders, nor did it control, profit or directly benefit from the pat down searches conducted by the private entities at Qwest Field,” according to the decision. . . (Full Story)
