Opinion ID: 326898
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: This inspection warrant would be invalid even under the administrative inspection analogy.

Text: 72 Even if we agreed with the government that the proper accommodation of law enforcement needs and Fourth Amendment protections would be to permit immigration checkpoints under judicially approved area warrants, we would conclude that the San Clemente checkpoint does not meet the standards sketched by Justice Powell in his concurrence in Almeida. 73 First, the frequency with which illegal aliens pass through the San Clemente checkpoint is far too low to make operation of a checkpoint reasonable. During the effective period of the warrant of inspection, only 0.12 percent of the passing cars were found to contain illegal aliens. Other considerations aside, that miniscule fraction alone would render the checkpoint operation unreasonable. 74 Second, the San Clemente checkpoint is 66 miles from the border. Surely, Justice Powell envisioned roving patrols much nearer the border. In any event, we think 66 miles is too far away, particularly where the checkpoint is located on an interstate highway which is the major traffic artery between the two largest cities in California, an artery that carries many million cars each year. 75 Third, although we are not sure how to weigh the extensiveness and geographic characteristics of the area because the San Clemente inspection warrant is narrowly limited to a fixed point along the highway, we note that Justice Powell's explanation of this factor used examples which reinforce our conclusion that he contemplated searches very near the border: 76 Depending upon the circumstances, there may be probable cause for the search to be authorized only for a designated portion of a particular road or such cause may exist for a designated area which may contain one or more roads or tracks. Particularly along much of the Mexican border, there are vast areas of uninhabited desert and arid land which are traversed by few, if any, main roads or highways, but which nevertheless may afford opportunities by virtue of their isolated character for the smuggling of aliens. 413 U.S. at 284 n. 4, 93 S.Ct. at 2545 (emphasis added). 77 Accordingly, we conclude that geographic characteristics are relevant only to establish an essential nexus with the border. Here there was none. 78 Fourth, the probable, indeed actual, degree of interference with the rights of innocent persons at the checkpoint is intolerable. Roughly 999 of every 1000 cars passing the checkpoint carry only persons who are lawfully within the country and under Carroll, supra, are entitled to use the public highways (and) have a right to free passage without interruption. Although the duration of a stop and even a detention for immigration questioning may be brief, the concentration of illegal alien traffic in relation to the general traffic on the highway is too small. We cannot countenance the cumulative intrusion of stopping ten million cars per year where only one out of every 1000 passing cars may contain aliens illegally within the country. 79 In short, if Justice Powell's Almeida concurrence were our guide, we would conclude that the United States magistrate who issued the instant warrant of inspection for San Clemente erred in resolving what Justice Powell calls a delicate question of constitutional judgment. 413 U.S. at 284, 93 S.Ct. 2535. 80