Black Comics’ Airport Search Specifics Probed During Arguments

Eleventh Circuit judges questioned attorneys during oral arguments Friday about what it takes for an encounter with the police to be deemed a “seizure,” after two Black entertainers had alleged their civil rights were violated during a jetway drug search at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

The questions arose concerning Black stand-up comedians Eric André’s and Clayton English’s appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, challenging a lower court’s denial of their constitutional claims.

The judges asked the performers’ attorney, Barry Friedman, of the Policing Project at NYU School of Law, about the time necessary to effectuate ...