What is the legal basis for denying a motion to suppress?

We review de novo the district court's legal basis for denying a motion to suppress, but review the district court's findings of fact for clear error. United States v. Marquez, 410 F.3d 612, 615 (9th Cir.2005), as amended by 2005 WL 1661572 (9th Cir. July 18, 2005).

Federal law mandates that commercial airlines must refuse to transport any prospective passengers who do not submit to a search of their persons and possessions for dangerous weapons, explosives and other destructive devices prior to boarding an aircraft. 49 U.S.C. 44902. In United States v. Davis, 482 F.2d 893 (9th Cir. 1973), we held that such "nationwide anti-hijacking program[s,] conceived, directed, and implemented by federal officials in cooperation with air carriers," are not "beyond the reach of the Fourth Amendment." Id. at 897. Nevertheless, we deemed these airport security screenings "administrative" searches to the extent that they are "conducted as part of a general regulatory scheme in furtherance of an administrative purpose, namely, to prevent the carrying of weapons or explosives aboard aircraft, and thereby to prevent hijackings," "rather than as part of a criminal investigation to secure evidence of crime." Id. at 908. We held that, as "administrative" searches, airport security screenings are "permissible under the Fourth Amendment though not supported by a showing of probable cause directed to a particular place or person," id., if, despite the absence of a warrant, they nonetheless "meet the Fourth Amendment's standard of reasonableness." Id. at 910. Finally, we concluded that an airport security screening process satisfies this reasonableness standard provided "[1] that [it] is no more extensive nor intensive than necessary, in the light of current technology, to detect the presence of weapons or explosives, [2] that it is confined in good faith to that purpose, and [3] that potential passengers

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may avoid the search by electing not to fly." Id. at 913.