Opinion ID: 522980
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Use of Juveniles in Drug Smuggling

Text: 17 Agent Truty was aware that it had recently become customary in the Nogales area to use juveniles in the transportation of marijuana. Thus, when he noticed Robert L at the accident site, one of the things that initially drew his attention and aroused his suspicion was the appellant's youthful appearance. Age, like race, is an immutable trait possessed by a large number of persons that are completely innocent of any wrongdoing. Although it can be a factor contributing to a finding of suspicious circumstances, without more it falls far short of creating the articulable suspicion necessary for an investigatory detention. Compare Brignoni-Ponce, 422 U.S. at 885-87, 95 S.Ct. at 2582-84; Magana, 797 F.2d at 781 (Mexican appearance alone will not support a finding of founded suspicion, but it can be considered as one factor in the determination whether to stop a vehicle); Mallides, 473 F.2d at 861 (otherwise innocent conduct does not become suspicious simply because the skins of the occupants [of a vehicle] are nonwhite).