> To a lawyer (like 30-35 of 55 framers of the Constitution), "reasonable" is a signal to balance competing interests.
That is certainly a legal use of "reasonable", but I don't believe it's the one used in the 4th Amendment.
The word "(un)reasonable" is not describing how a decision is made, as used in the expression "reasonable person", which means "someone who uses such qualities as attention, knowledge, intelligence and judgment which a society requires of its members to protect their own interests and the interests of others.”[1]
In the 4th Amendment, "reasonable" is describing a disposition or action derived from or based on examining and validly inferring from evidence, as in "reasonable belief", where it "considers whether an officer acted on personal knowledge of facts and circumstances which are reasonably trustworthy, and that would justify a person of average caution to believe that a crime has been or is being committed..."[2]
Without evidence on which to base belief (suspicion) that a crime has been or is being committed, a search is ispo facto "unreasonable", and therefore unconstitutional, regardless of any benefits to interested parties.
That is certainly a legal use of "reasonable", but I don't believe it's the one used in the 4th Amendment.
The word "(un)reasonable" is not describing how a decision is made, as used in the expression "reasonable person", which means "someone who uses such qualities as attention, knowledge, intelligence and judgment which a society requires of its members to protect their own interests and the interests of others.”[1]
In the 4th Amendment, "reasonable" is describing a disposition or action derived from or based on examining and validly inferring from evidence, as in "reasonable belief", where it "considers whether an officer acted on personal knowledge of facts and circumstances which are reasonably trustworthy, and that would justify a person of average caution to believe that a crime has been or is being committed..."[2]
Without evidence on which to base belief (suspicion) that a crime has been or is being committed, a search is ispo facto "unreasonable", and therefore unconstitutional, regardless of any benefits to interested parties.
My 2 cents, IANAL, etc.
[1] Barron's, cited at http://www.answers.com/topic/reasonable-man
[2] Barron's cited at http://www.answers.com/topic/reasonable-belief