In the case of Ramsey v. New York, 1978, the U.S Supreme Court ruled that a state law which allowed for pretrial detention based on potential danger to other persons or community was not unconstitutional. The appellant, James Ramsey Jr., had been detained before his trial under this law due to his history of violent behavior and mental illness. He argued that this violated his constitutional rights as it presumed guilt before a fair trial could be held. However, the court disagreed with him stating that preventive detention did not necessarily presume guilt but rather aimed at preventing harm to society while awaiting trial.

In the dissenting opinion for Ramsey v. New York, Justice William Rehnquist disagreed with the majority's decision to overturn a conviction based on evidence obtained from an airport luggage search. He argued that airports are unique public spaces where security measures necessitate certain intrusions into personal privacy, and thus should not be subject to the same Fourth Amendment protections as private homes or offices. Furthermore, he contended that travelers implicitly consent to these searches by choosing to fly and suggested that those who wish to avoid such scrutiny could opt for other modes of transportation. In his view, this implicit consent justified warrantless searches at airports even in cases where there is no immediate threat of danger or criminal activity.