Aren't all line checks supposed to be surprise?

I've been flying in the 121 world now for almost 11 years and have never had more than 15-30 minutes of advance notice of an upcoming line check. I thought that was the whole point of the evaluation. To see how someone performs on a day to day basis. Like others have said, if you fly the book (SOP) there really is nothing to worry about. It has always been a very low stress event for me. The only people I've seen get wound up about the event are those that are cowboys out on the line and, in truth, those are the folks that the LCs were put in place for.

Marsea, I don't know what 'politics' were involved in your situation, but I think it's safe to say that as long as you follow(ed) your company manuals you have nothing to worry about.