Opinion ID: 496265
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Did a seizure occur in violation of the fourth amendment?

Text: 15 We review de novo an ultimate holding that there was, or was not, a seizure in violation of the fourth amendment. United States v. Sokolow, 808 F.2d 1366, 1369 (9th Cir.1987); LaDuke v. Nelson, 762 F.2d 1318, 1327 (9th Cir.1985). The findings of the historical facts are, of course, reviewed under the clearly erroneous standard, Fed.R.Civ.P. 52(a), but the legal consequences of those facts are questions of law. United States v. Attardi, 796 F.2d 257, 259 (9th Cir.1986); United States v. McConney, 728 F.2d 1195, 1200-05 (9th Cir.) cert. denied, 469 U.S. 824, 105 S.Ct. 101, 83 L.Ed.2d 46 (1984). 16 With regard to each of the four plaintiffs, we must decide (1) whether he or she was subjected to a fourth amendment seizure, and if so, (2) whether the seizure was reasonable.
17 Nunez alleges that he was unlawfully seized when the INS agents grabbed him by the shoulder in order to get him to answer questions. The district court held that although an agent did grab Nunez, he held him so briefly that any detention did not amount to a fourth amendment seizure. We agree. 18 A person has been seized within the meaning of the fourth amendment if, in view of all the circumstances surrounding the incident, a reasonable person would have believed that he was not free to leave. INS v. Delgado, 466 U.S. 210, 215, 104 S.Ct. 1758, 1762, 80 L.Ed.2d 247 (1984); United States v. Erwin, 803 F.2d 1505, 1508 (9th Cir.1986); United States v. Patino, 649 F.2d 724, 727 (9th Cir.1981). [C]ircumstances that might indicate a seizure, even where the person did not attempt to leave, [include] the threatening presence of several officers, the display of a weapon by an officer, some physical touching of the person of the citizen, or the use of language or tone of voice indicating that compliance with the officer's request might be compelled. United States v. Anderson, 663 F.2d 934, 939 (9th Cir.1981), quoting United States v. Mendenhall, 446 U.S. 544, 554, 100 S.Ct. 1870, 1877, 64 L.Ed.2d 497 (1980) (opinion of Stewart, J.). 19 In determining whether a seizure occurred in the context of immigration surveys of factories, we look to Delgado. Delgado held that no seizure occurs so long as INS agent conduct does not give workers reason to believe that they would be detained if they gave truthful answers to the questions put to them or if they simply refused to answer. 466 U.S. at 218, 104 S.Ct. at 1763. In particular, in Delgado, one example of hands-on touching, a tap on the shoulder to attract attention, was held not to constitute a seizure. Id. at 220, 104 S.Ct. at 1764. 20 We find no significant difference between the Delgado shoulder tap and the Nunez encounter. The evidence shows that one of the officers grabbed Nunez to get his attention, and released him as soon as Nunez turned to face him. Compare Sokolow, 808 F.2d at 1369 (a seizure occurred when officers grabbed, moved, and forcibly seated an individual). Nunez testified that he was not afraid of the agents. At their request he showed them his papers, and then left. It does not appear that Nunez was pressured into answering questions or restrained. He was thus not seized within the meaning of the fourth amendment.
21 Martinez had several encounters with INS agents. We hold that two encounters resulted in a detention. First, after Martinez was checked by Nygaard, another agent prevented her from leaving the belt area. She was detained. The agent's conduct exceeded any detention approved in Delgado. No reasonable person in Martinez's position would have felt free to leave. Second, when Martinez tried to leave the building to retrieve Marines' papers, an INS employee physically restrained her until another INS agent indicated that she could go. Again, no reasonable person in Martinez' position would have felt free to leave. To say that this encounter did not rise to the level of a fourth amendment seizure is to clothe INS agents with authority not found in Delgado. 22 A more difficult question is whether, assuming a fourth amendment seizure, the seizure was reasonable in light of the Supreme Court's implicit approval of factory sweeps. See Delgado, 466 U.S. at 221-24, 104 S.Ct. at 1765-66 (Powell, J., concurring). On one hand, INS agents must be permitted to take reasonable measures to ensure that workplace surveys proceed smoothly and that illegal aliens do not slip away. On the other hand, Delgado does not authorize detention without individualized and articulated grounds for each incident. See id. at 216-17, 104 S.Ct. at 1762-63 (where a worker merely refuses to answer but does not attempt to flee or evade the agents, any additional steps taken by the agents must be supported by some minimal level of objective justification to validate the detention or seizure); see also Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 21, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 1879, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). Our own cases hold that to detain a worker short of an arrest, an INS officer must have an objectively reasonable suspicion that the particular worker is an illegal alien. ILGWU v. Sureck, 681 F.2d 624, 638 (9th Cir.1982), rev'd on other grounds sub nom. INS v. Delgado, 466 U.S. 210, 104 S.Ct. 1758, 80 L.Ed.2d 247 (1984); United States v. Rocha-Lopez, 527 F.2d 476, 478 (9th Cir.1975), cert. denied, 425 U.S. 977, 96 S.Ct. 2181, 48 L.Ed.2d 802 (1976). The agent who stopped Martinez from leaving the belt area had no basis for suspecting that she was an illegal alien. Nor did Ferguson, who stopped her at the door. Therefore, the detentions were unreasonable and the court erred in denying her claim as a matter of law.
23 Agent Colson detained Olga Marines for about 20 minutes while Martinez retrieved her papers. Marines does not contend that agents lacked a reasonable basis for detaining her, but argues that the detention was far more intrusive, frightening and embarrassing than the circumstances required. 24 The scope of a Terry stop must be reasonably tailored to its purpose. Berkemer v. McCarty, 468 U.S. 420, 439, 104 S.Ct. 3138, 3149, 82 L.Ed.2d 317 (1984); Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. 491, 500, 103 S.Ct. 1319, 1325, 7 L.Ed.2d 229 (1983) (plurality opinion). The stop may last only so long as is necessary to carry out its purpose and the investigative methods used should be the least intrusive means reasonably available to confirm or dispel the officer's suspicion. Royer, 460 U.S. at 499-500, 103 S.Ct. at 1325. The government has the burden of showing that the seizure was so limited. Id. However, a reviewing court should keep in mind the pace of events occurring at the time of the stop and should not substitute its judgment about the best means of investigation for that of the officers. United States v. Sharpe, 470 U.S. 675, 686-87, 105 S.Ct. 1568, 1575-76, 84 L.Ed.2d 605 (1985). A Terry stop becomes an arrest, and must be supported by probable cause, when a reasonable person would believe that he or she was under arrest. United States v. Patterson, 648 F.2d 625, 632 (9th Cir.1981). 25 We hold that under all the circumstances, detaining Marines for 20 minutes was reasonable. Admittedly, there were other options, for instance, an agent could have accompanied her to her car, or alerted the agent in the parking lot to watch for her. However, as the factory was a scene of anxiety and confusion, the agents were busy. They had to decide whether anyone could be spared to accompany Marines to her car. In hindsight, it might have been better to let her go to the parking lot by herself. On balance, considering the confusion and the pace of events, we cannot say that the agents acted unreasonably in choosing to keep Marines in the plant. See Sharpe, 470 U.S. at 686-87, 105 S.Ct. at 1575-76. 26 Once the agents decided to detain Marines, they acted reasonably. Although Agent Colson threatened to tie her hands if she tried to leave, he did not thereby transform her detention into an arrest. While his language and tone were intemperate, under the circumstances they would not have led a reasonable person in Marines' position to believe that she was under arrest. 27 The agents placed those they arrested in a van bound for Boise. Marines was treated differently. The agents detained her inside, and let her know that she would be released as soon as Martinez returned with her papers. Had she been in compliance with the green card statute, 4 she would have avoided the inconvenience.
28 When Rayo told Colson her papers were at home, he placed her with other detained workers in the plant. After about fifteen minutes, she was taken to the van bound for Boise. Five minutes later she was released, when her husband arrived with her papers. We hold that Rayo was arrested, but that her arrest was reasonable. First, the agents had probable cause to believe Rayo had violated the green card statute, as she did not have her papers on her person. An individual's admission that she is an alien, coupled with her failure to produce her green card, provides probable cause for an arrest. See Benitez-Mendez v. INS, 760 F.2d 907, 909 n. 2 (9th Cir.1985). 5 The agents held her only until her husband brought her card. Reasonable detention was not made unreasonable by the failure of defendants at trial to remember the specific reasons for her detention. See INS v. Lopez-Mendoza, 468 U.S. 1032, 1049, 104 S.Ct. 3479, 3488, 82 L.Ed.2d 778 (1984) (as INS agents arrest over one million deportable aliens a year and the arrests often occur in crowded and confused circumstances, they cannot be expected to recall the precise basis for every detention). 29 In sum, we affirm the judgment of the trial court denying equitable relief. We affirm the judgment denying damages to Nunez, Marines and Rayo. We reverse the judgment in favor of defendants on Martinez' claims and remand her claims for further proceedings. 30 Affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded. Martinez to recover costs on appeal.