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by dragonwriter 3023 days ago
> Was that a 4th amendment search if they claim that they didn't look through your briefcase?

It's a seizure whether or not they looked through it, and it's a search if they examined—by any means, technical or otherwise—the contents in a way they wouldn't have been practically able to without seizing it, irrespective of whether they opened it (and even more independent of whether they claim they opened it.)