Opinion ID: 3049651
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Justification for the Search

Text: Seljan contends, based on 19 U.S.C. § 1583, that Inspector Oliva’s opening of the sealed envelope inside the FedEx package and his examination of the letter’s contents were improper because Inspector Oliva had no reasonable suspicion that the sealed envelope contained contraband. [1] We reject Seljan’s theory that the inspection was conducted under the authority of 19 U.S.C. § 1583, which requires that customs officials have reasonable suspicion to open sealed envelopes in outbound mail carried by the U.S. Postal Service.7 The district court found that on November 21, 2002, customs inspectors were conducting an outbound currency interdiction operation targeting packages bound for the Philippines to determine if the sender was exporting currency in violation of 31 U.S.C. § 5316. See Seljan, 328 F. Supp. 2d at 1079. These interdiction efforts are authorized under 31 U.S.C. § 5317(b), which provides that “a customs officer may stop and search, at the border and without a search warrant, any vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or other conveyance, any envelope or other container, and any person entering or departing from the United States.” Id. (emphasis added). Notwithstanding the standard under 19 U.S.C. § 1583, § 5317(b) granted separate and independent authority to Inspector Oliva to open both envelopes contained in the FedEx package. 7 Section 1583 provides that customs officials at the border may conduct a warrantless search of “mail of domestic origin transmitted for export by the United States Postal Service and foreign mail transiting the United States that is being imported or exported by the United States Postal Service.” 19 U.S.C. § 1583(a)(1). The statute likewise permits outgoing mail to be searched where the sender “has consented in writing.” Id. § 1583(b). Customs officials may search “mail weighing in excess of 16 ounces sealed against inspection under the postal laws and regulations of the United States . . . if there is reasonable cause to suspect that such mail contains” contraband, see id. § 1583(c)(1), with the limitation that no inspector “shall read, or authorize any other person to read, any correspondence contained in mail sealed against inspection[,]” absent a search warrant or express written consent for the reading. Id. § 1583(c)(2). UNITED STATES v. SELJAN 9849 [2] Based on the record, the district court did not err in finding the search was authorized under 31 U.S.C. § 5317, and not 19 U.S.C. § 1583. Despite an unattributed “customs report” cited by Seljan that the random package inspection was conducted in part under 19 U.S.C. § 1583, Inspector LeBlanc testified that neither he nor any member of his team was involved in preparing such a report. See Rep.’s Tr. of Trial Proceedings 52-53 (May 10, 2004). Inspector LeBlanc also testified that he did not instruct his team during the November 21, 2002 operation that their currency interdiction inspections were authorized under 19 U.S.C. § 1583. See id. at 53-55. This testimony is supported by the legal premise that the import of section 1583 is irrelevant because of the distinct grant of suspicionless search authority under 31 U.S.C. § 5317. Cf. Sutter, 340 F.3d at 1025 (The border search exception is “codified at 19 U.S.C. §§ 1581 and 1582, [authorizing] ‘routine searches of persons and their effects entering the country [to] be conducted without any suspicion whatsoever.’ ”) (quoting United States v. Molina-Tarazon, 279 F.3d 709, 712 (9th Cir. 2002)); United States v. Pringle, 576 F.2d 1114, 1115-18 (5th Cir. 1978) (rejecting defendant’s contention that search of inbound package from Thailand required “reasonable cause to suspect” unlawfulness under 19 U.S.C. § 482 where 19 U.S.C. § 1582 codified suspicionless search of all mail at the border) (citing Ramsey, 431 U.S. at 616-25). [3] Moreover, even if Inspector Oliva mistakenly believed he was operating under 19 U.S.C. § 1583, a government official’s subjective belief is immaterial to our Fourth Amendment inquiry where the border search was grounded in the objective authority under 31 U.S.C. § 5317. See Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 813 (1996); United States v. Lopez-Soto, 205 F.3d 1101, 1105 (9th Cir. 2000); United States v. Bowhay, 992 F.2d 229, 231 (9th Cir. 1993) (“When the police conduct would have been the same regardless of the officer’s subjective state of mind, no purpose is served by attempting to tease out the officer’s ‘true’ motivation.”). 9850 UNITED STATES v. SELJAN [4] In evaluating the justification for the search here, we stress that the government’s interest in protecting its territorial integrity is at its “zenith” at the border, Flores-Montano, 541 U.S. at 152, and every Congress since the first one “has granted the Executive plenary authority to conduct routine searches and seizures at the border, without probable cause or a warrant, in order to regulate the collection of duties and to prevent the introduction of contraband into this country.” United States v. Montoya de Hernandez, 473 U.S. 531, 537 (1985). In other words, the government’s justification for broad search authority is its interest in regulating the flow of persons and property across the border. A judicious scrutiny of the search of the November 2002 package must consider the extent to which the suspicionless inspection of Seljan’s correspondence furthered the government’s interest in regulating the flow of persons and property across the border. Viewed in this light, the justification for the search of the FedEx package at the functional equivalent of the border is strong.