Q: Walmart is searching customers after they've paid, as they try to leave the store.
I don't need help, BUT.... I’m in Iowa. Lately, I've gotten into heated arguments w/”Greeters" at several different Walmarts in three different towns, after seeing them stop customers & SEARCH through their items that have already been paid for as the shoppers attempt to leave the store. Employees use the customer’s rec’t to compare against what’s in the bags/cart. I've told shoppers that Walmart has NO RIGHT to search their stuff, & employees have argued that I’m wrong & threatened to have me ejected. They haven't searched me. Yet. lf they were to try, I plan to tell them to either let me go or call the police, but that THEY will NOT be allowed to search or detain me themselves. Just FYI, I've seen an actual shoplifter get caught at a Walmart in Coralville and it was a completely different type of behavior than these searches. In that case, the shoplifter was surrounded by several employees, who told him they’d SEEN him stealing, and took him to “the office to wait for the police.”
A:
Here is a law review article from 2009 discussing this issue
http://commons.law.famu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1079&context=famulawreview
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
