Opinion ID: 456285
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Extended Border Search Doctrine

Text: 9 The district court found that Agent Doody's search of the Federal Express package constituted a valid exit border search. Under the border search exception, a search may be initiated without a warrant, probable cause, or even articulable suspicion. United States v. Ramsey, 431 U.S. 606, 618-19, 97 S.Ct. 1972, 1979-80, 52 L.Ed.2d 617 (1977); United States v. Des Jardins, 747 F.2d 499, 502 (9th Cir.1984). While the border search exception traditionally has been applied only to persons or property entering the country, we have recently confirmed the application of the border search exception to exit searches. Des Jardins, 747 F.2d at 503. 10 A border search need not take place at the actual border. Because of the nature of international travel and transportation, courts have held that border searches may be conducted at places considered the functional equivalent of a border. Almeida-Sanchez v. United States, 413 U.S. 266, 273, 93 S.Ct. 2535, 2539, 37 L.Ed.2d 596 (1973); United States v. Duncan, 693 F.2d 971, 977 (9th Cir.1982), cert. denied, 461 U.S. 961, 103 S.Ct. 2436, 77 L.Ed.2d 1321 (1983). In addition, the extended border search doctrine has been applied to entry border searches conducted some time after the border was crossed. United States v. Caicedo-Guarnizo, 723 F.2d 1420, 1422 (9th Cir.1984); United States v. Espericueta-Reyes, 631 F.2d 616, 619 (9th Cir.1980). 11 In the present case, the search of the Federal Express package did not occur at the actual border, but rather 3,000 miles from the border and twenty-four hours before the scheduled border crossing. Consequently, if the search is to be upheld, it must either have been conducted at the functional equivalent of the border or have constituted a valid extended border search. We have recently recognized the difficulty of making sharp distinctions between searches at the functional equivalent of the border and extended border searches. United States v. Alfonso, 759 F.2d 728, 734 (9th Cir.1985). Since an extended border search involves a greater spatial and temporal distance from the border than a search at the functional equivalent of the border, it must be justified by a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. Id. Considering the distance and time factors of the present case, we conclude that the facts of this case should be analyzed under the extended border search doctrine. See id. (where entry search occurred thirty-six hours after border was crossed, court treats search as extended border search). 12 The leading case in this circuit on extended border searches is Alexander v. United States, 362 F.2d 379 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 385 U.S. 977, 87 S.Ct. 519, 17 L.Ed.2d 439 (1966). There, the court stated the test for determining the validity of a post-entry border search: 13 Where ... a search for contraband ... is not made at or in the immediate vicinity of the point of international border crossing, the legality of the search must be tested by a determination whether the totality of the surrounding circumstances, including the time and distance elapsed as well as the manner and extent of surveillance, are such to convince the fact finder with reasonable certainty that any contraband which might be found in or on the vehicle at the time of search was aboard the vehicle at the time of entry into the jurisdiction of the United States. Any search by Customs officials which meets this test is properly called a border search. 14 Alexander, 362 F.2d at 382. 15 The search in the present case satisfies the Alexander totality of the circumstances test. When the parcel was placed in the custody of Federal Express agents, it was all but certain that the parcel's condition would remain unchanged until it crossed the United States border. Cf. United States v. King, 517 F.2d 350 (5th Cir.1975) (where court upheld a search at an Alabama post office of mail which crossed the border in California as a search conducted at the functional equivalent of the border). The fact that this case involves an exit search does not alter our analysis. Since the border search exception applies to exit searches, there is no principled basis to conclude that the extended border search doctrine does not apply with equal force to exit searches as it does to entry searches. 16 In addition, Agent Doody's search of the parcel was supported by reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. Leo Becker, Cardona's co-employee, had informed Doody that another employee, Sergio Urrutia, had been sending currency or cashier's checks to Florida and Colombia on behalf of Cardona and others. Doody later learned that the DEA was investigating Cardona for suspected involvement in a Colombian drug organization. Together with Doody's observations, these facts established a reasonable suspicion that the parcel contained cashier's checks for the purchase of narcotics. 17