NFL Pat-Downs Withstand Another Challenge, This Time In S.F.

California Appeals Court Rejects Challenge To Pat-Downs At 49ers Games

A California state appeals court yesterday rejected a challenge by 49ers season-ticket holders Daniel and Kathleen Sheehan to pat-down searches at Monster Park, "saying they tacitly agreed to be checked when they bought their season tickets," according to Bob Egelko of the S.F. CHRONICLE.  The Sheehans sued the team in December '05, but "by the time they got to court, the season was over and they had bought tickets for the next year."  The court stated that "by deciding to attend the games despite their objections to the policy, the Sheehans 'impliedly consented to the pat-downs' and surrendered their right to challenge them."  ACLU lawyer Alan Schlosser, whose group helped the Sheehans with the suit, said that the group "will discuss a possible appeal with the Sheehans." Egelko notes last month, a federal appeals court in Atlanta overturned lower-court decisions that halted pat-downs at Buccaneers games and a federal judge in Seattle dismissed a suit challenging pat-downs at Seahawks games (S.F. CHRONICLE, 7/18).