Source: http://co.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.19830617_0042427.SCT.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2020-04-04 09:58:36
Document Index: 112299743

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1581', '§ 963', '§ 952', '§ 846', '§ 841', '§ 1581']

FindACase™ | UNITED STATES v. VILLAMONTE-MARQUEZ ET AL.
[ 462 U.S. Page 580]
Congress has provided that "[any] officer of the customs may at any time go on board of any vessel . . . at any place in the United States . . . and examine the manifest and other documents and papers . . . and to this end may hail and stop such vessel . . . and use all necessary force to compel compliance." 46 Stat. 747, as amended, 19 U. S. C. § 1581(a).*fn1 We are asked to decide whether the Fourth Amendment is offended when customs officials, acting pursuant to this
[ 462 U.S. Page 581]
statute and without any suspicion of wrongdoing, board for inspection of documents a vessel that is located in waters providing ready access to the open sea.*fn2
[ 462 U.S. Page 582]
[ 462 U.S. Page 583]
A jury found respondents guilty of conspiring to import marihuana in violation of 21 U. S. C. § 963, importing marihuana in violation of 21 U. S. C. § 952(a), conspiring to possess marihuana with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U. S. C. § 846, and possessing marihuana with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U. S. C. § 841(a)(1). The Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed the judgment of conviction, finding that the officers' boarding of the Henry Morgan II "was not reasonable under the fourth amendment" because the boarding occurred in the absence of "a reasonable
[ 462 U.S. Page 584]
suspicion of a law violation." 652 F.2d 481, 488 (1981). Because of a conflict among the Circuits and the importance of the question presented as it affects the enforcement of customs laws, we granted certiorari. 457 U.S. 1104 (1982).*fn3 We now reverse.
In 1790 the First Congress enacted a comprehensive statute "to provide more effectually for the collection of the duties imposed by law on goods, wares and merchandise imported into the United States, and on the tonnage of ships or vessels." Act of Aug. 4, 1970, 1 Stat. 145. Section 31 of that Act provided in pertinent part as follows:
[ 462 U.S. Page 585]
the boarding of the vessel in this case. Title 19 U. S. C. § 1581(a) provides that "[any] officer of the customs may at any time go on board of any vessel . . . at any place in the United States or within the customs waters . . . and examine the manifest and other documents and papers . . . ."
[ 462 U.S. Page 586]
The Government insists that the language of the statute clearly authorized the boarding of the vessel in this case. The respondents do not seriously dispute this contention, but contend that even though authorized by statute the boarding here violated the prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures contained in the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. We of course agree with respondents' argument that "no Act of Congress can authorize a violation of the Constitution." Almeida-Sanchez v. United States, 413 U.S. 266, 272 (1973). But we also agree with the Government's contention that the enactment of this statute by the same Congress that promulgated the constitutional Amendments that ultimately became the Bill of Rights gives the statute an impressive historical pedigree.*fn4 United Page 586} States v. Ramsey, 431 U.S. 606 (1977). As long ago as the decision in Boyd v. United States, 116 U.S. 616 (1886), this Court said:
[ 462 U.S. Page 587]
"The seizure of stolen goods is authorized by the common law . . . and the like seizures have been authorized by our own revenue acts from the commencement of the government. The first statute passed by Congress to regulate the collection of duties, the act of July 31, 1789, 1 Stat. 29, 43, contains provisions to this effect. As this Page 587} Act was passed by the same Congress which proposed for adoption the original amendments to the Constitution, it is clear that the members of that body did not regard searches and seizures of this kind as 'unreasonable,' and they are not embraced within the prohibition of the amendment." Id., at 623 (emphasis supplied; footnote omitted).
In United States v. Martinez-Fuerte, 428 U.S. 543 (1976), we upheld the authority of the Border Patrol to maintain permanent checkpoints at or near intersections of important roads leading away from the border at which a vehicle would be stopped for brief questioning of its occupants "even though there is no reason to believe the particular vehicle contains illegal ...