Opinion ID: 380201
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Representation by Counsel at the Order Application

Text: 10 Appellant's attorney learned that the customs agents were preparing an affidavit to seek a court order requiring appellant to submit to a strip search and requested the name of the magistrate to whom the application was going to be made. The assistant United States Attorney in charge of the investigation refused to provide this information and the attorney did not obtain it until after the application had been granted. Appellant now contends that her due process rights of notice and an opportunity to be heard were violated by the government's refusal to allow her attorney to participate in the search order hearing. 11 Viewing the government's request for a court order as the equivalent of a search warrant, it becomes clear that appellant had no right to have counsel present during the application, and appellant offers no authority supporting such a right. One court has required the presence of counsel for the accused during a search warrant application where the search involved surgical exploration of the accused's body. See United States v. Crowder, 543 F.2d 312, 316 (D.C. Cir. 1976), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1062, 97 S.Ct. 788, 50 L.Ed.2d 779 (1977). This case is not applicable here, however, since the health risk to the accused inherent in such a procedure is not present in the search of a body cavity. 12 Since the application for the order was the functional equivalent of an application for a search warrant, traditionally an ex parte proceeding, appellant's due process rights were not violated by the government's refusal to permit her attorney to participate. 13