Court Opinion

ID: 9475846
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 05:39:55.720788+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:44:58.344792
License: Public Domain

CLARK, Chief Judge,
dissenting:
With deference, I respectfully dissent. I cannot conclude that the record requires that we reverse the district court’s factual determination that Agent Ramos did not have probable cause to arrest Bengivenga before he took a minute and a half to determine that she had lied about having checked luggage on the bus. It was entirely appropriate, in my view, for Agent Ramos to take an extra moment to pursue the strongest clue he had by questioning the only two passengers bound for the destination shown on the luggage that smelled of marijuana. It is both plausible and probable, to my mind, for him to think that he needed to confirm that others had not sent the luggage to this small town with the intent that confederates would claim it, or to think that another passenger might have *856covered his association with the bags by purchasing a ticket to another destination.
Apprehending dope smugglers is not an easy game or one played by logical rules. Agents set to this task frequently find their best efforts thwarted when they make arrests based on what courts later say was less than probable cause. I simply cannot fault Agent Ramos or the district court for holding the belief that I share— until Bengivenga’s lie was revealed, a reasonable probability existed that the marijuana-laden suitcases could be in the control of others.
Because I would affirm, I dissent.