Court Opinion

ID: 9476857
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 06:07:18.871901+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:45:32.894192
License: Public Domain

WIGGINS, Circuit Judge,
dissenting:
If the present opinion becomes the law of this circuit, I conclude that many, and perhaps all, Terry stops that rely upon drug courier profile characteristics may fail on constitutional grounds. Because I believe such an unfortunate result is not mandated by the law, I respectfully dissent.
The fourth amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. Courts determine the reasonableness of a search or seizure by “balancing the need to search against the invasion which the search entails.” Camara v. Municipal Ct., 387 U.S. 523, 536-37, 87 S.Ct. 1727, 1734-35, 18 L.Ed.2d 930 (1967). In determining whether a particular search or seizure is reasonable, the Supreme Court has developed a three-tier structure of fourth amendment jurisprudence. The first category includes consensual police-citizen encounters, such as brief stops for questioning. Here no seizure occurs and the fourth amendment is not implicated. See Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. 491, 497, 103 S.Ct. 1319, 1323, 75 L.Ed.2d 229 (1983); Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 19 n. 16, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 1879 n. 16, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). The second level consists of brief investigative detentions and pat downs of outer clothing. Because these intrusions are “seizures,” law enforcement officials must have a reasonable, articulable suspicion that the suspect has recently committed a crime or is about to commit one. See Terry, 392 U.S. at 21, 88 S.Ct. at 1879; Adams v. Williams, 407 U.S. 143, 146, 92 S.Ct. 1921, 1923, 32 L.Ed.2d 612 (1972). The third category comprises full-scale searches or arrests requiring probable cause. See Beck v. Ohio, 379 U.S. 89, 91, 85 S.Ct. 223, 225, 13 L.Ed.2d 142 (1964).
I agree with the majority that a fourth amendment seizure occurred in this case when the DEA agents approached defendant Sokolow at the curbside. A person is seized when- his freedom of movement is restrained by means of physical force or a show of authority. See United States v. Mendenhall, 446 U.S. 544, 553, 100 S.Ct. 1870, 1876, 64 L.Ed.2d 497 (1980) (opinion of Stewart, J.); Terry, 392 U.S. at 16, 88 S.Ct. at 1877 n. 16. The DEA agents grabbed Sokolow by the arm, moved him away from the curb, and seated him before they began questioning. I also agree that this initial seizure was not sufficiently intrusive to constitute a full-scale arrest. The DEA momentarily detained Sokolow for questioning in an attempt to dispel their suspicions, exactly the type of behavior approved by the Court in Terry. 392 U.S. at 22-23, 88 S.Ct. at 1880-81. Although difficult line-drawing problems may arise in distinguishing an investigative stop from a de facto arrest, the seizure of Sokolow at curbside does not raise such a problem. The detention was brief, served the important law enforcement purpose of detecting drug couriers, and lasted no more than necessary to effectuate this purpose. See United States v. Sharpe, 470 U.S. 675, 685, 105 S.Ct. 1568, 1575, 84 L.Ed.2d 605 (1985) (in distinguishing investigative stop from de facto arrest, court should consider brevity of stop, law enforcement purposes served, and time reasonably needed to effectuate those purposes).
*1425The detention here was a second-tier, or Terry seizure and thus we determine its constitutionality by the reasonable articulable suspicion standard. The majority concludes that the agents did not possess this level of suspicion. This conclusion rests upon an unjustified parsing of the drug courier profile. The majority divides the profile into two types of elements: first, those that the majority views as “consistent with an ongoing crime,” such as the use of an alias or taking an erratic path through an airport, and second, elements that seek to identify personal characteristics shared by drug couriers. The majority finds that regardless of the number of the second type of factors possessed by a suspect, the DEA cannot make any type of “seizure” unless the suspect exhibits a behavior that the majority terms “evidence of ongoing criminal behavior.” According to this view, drug courier profile characteristics may not ever support reasonable suspicion in themselves, and can only be used to confirm or deny suspicion based on other factors.
I believe that the majority’s approach seriously undermines the effectiveness of the drug courier profile as an investigative tool. The DEA developed the drug courier profile in the early 1970’s as part of an effort to combat escalating drug smuggling through this nation’s airways. The profile consists of a number of characteristics, all of which, both singly and collectively, are in themselves lawful. The DEA has determined, however, based upon its collective experience, that certain characteristics are commonly associated with drug couriers.1 Specially trained and experienced DEA agents use this profile to identify suspected drug traffickers and their efforts have met with some success. See Mendenhall, 446 U.S. at 562, 100 S.Ct. at 1881 (Powell, J., concurring) (during first eighteen months of profile program, DEA agents in Detroit searched 141 persons in 96 encounters, found controlled substances in 77 of these encounters, and arrested 122 persons).
Because conformance with some aspects of the profile could “describe a very large category of presumably innocent travelers,” Reid v. Georgia, 448 U.S. 438, 441, 100 S.Ct. 2752, 2754, 65 L.Ed.2d 890 (1981), the profile is not intended to provide a mathematical formula for establishing reasonable suspicion. But neither should DEA agents be completely precluded from stopping potential drug couriers for questioning based on profile characteristics. See United States v. Berry, 670 F.2d 583, 601 (5th Cir.1982) (en banc) (match with some profile characteristics does not automatically support reasonable suspicion but the fact that characteristic appears on profile doesn’t preclude its use as a justification for a stop); United States v. Price, 599 F.2d 494, 502 n. 10 (2d Cir.1979) (appropriate for reviewing court to take profile into account as it represents a “kind of institutional expertness”); United States v. McCaleb, 552 F.2d 717, 720 (6th Cir.1977) (set of facts may arise in which existence of profile characteristics constitutes reasonable suspicion although facts not sufficient in this case). The determination of reasonable suspicion must turn on the facts of each case. In other words, “the totality of the circumstances — the whole picture— must be taken into account.” United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 417, 101 S.Ct. 690, 695, 66 L.Ed.2d 621 (1981).
*1426In evaluating the whole picture, a trained officer may draw inferences and make deductions that would escape an untrained observer. Id. at 418, 101 S.Ct. at 695. Conduct seemingly innocent may, viewed as a whole, appear suspect to one familiar with the practices of drug smugglers and the methods used to avoid detection. See Brown v. Texas, 443 U.S. 47, 52 n. 2, 99 S.Ct. 2637, 2641 n. 2, 61 L.Ed.2d 357 (1979); United States v. Wallraff, 705 F.2d 980, 988 (8th Cir.1983); United States v. Ramirez-Cifuentes, 682 F.2d 337, 342 (2d Cir. 1982). Moreover, this process “does not deal with hard certainties, but with probabilities,” Cortez, 449 U.S. at 418, 101 S.Ct. at 695, and does not lend itself to bright-line rules. Where experience shows that certain characteristics are repeatedly found among drug smugglers, “sheer logic dictates that ... the existence of those characteristics in a particular case is to be considered” in the reasonable suspicion equation. Royer, 460 U.S. at 526-27 n. 6, 103 S.Ct. at 1339 n. 6 (Rehnquist, J., dissenting). The majority’s approach, therefore, is overly mechanistic because conformity with a drug-courier profile could never, by itself, justify an investigative detention. This result is contrary to the case-by-case determination of reasonable articulable suspicion based on all the facts that the Supreme Court has espoused in Terry and subsequent cases.
The majority contends that its mechanical view of the reasonable suspicion standard is “in harmony” with Supreme Court cases discussing the drug courier profile. This reading of the Supreme Court cases is unjustified. Although the Court has not delineated any explicit guidelines, it has approved the use of drug courier profile characteristics to support investigative stops. The Supreme Court first discussed the profile in United States v. Mendenhall, 446 U.S. 544, 100 S.Ct. 1870, 64 L.Ed.2d 497 (1980). A majority of the Court found that the stop of the defendant was constitutional, but could not agree as to a rationale. Justice Stewart, joined by Justice Rehnquist, found that no seizure occurred when the defendant was approached by agents in the airport concourse, and so did not reach the issue of whether the drug courier profile could provide reasonable suspicion. Id. at 557, 100 S.Ct. at 1878 (opinion of Stewart, J.)
Justice Powell's concurring opinion, joined by Chief Justice Burger and Justice Blackmun, assumed that the initial encounter constituted a seizure, but found that it was justified by reasonable suspicion. This finding was based on the fact that Mendenhall met the following profile characteristics: 1) she arrived in Detroit from Los Angeles, a source city, 2) she appeared nervous, “engaged in behavior that the agents believed was designed to evade detection,” 3) she was the last to deplane, 4) she claimed no luggage, and 5) she changed airlines for her flight out of Detroit. Id. at 564, 100 S.Ct. at 1882 (Powell, J., concurring). Justice Powell emphasized that the agents were specially trained, and indicated that defendant’s ostensibly innocent conduct could have had an entirely different meaning for the trained observer. Id. at 563-64, 100 S.Ct. at 1882. The majority here seizes on Justice Powell’s comment that respondent “engaged in behavior ... designed to evade detection” to support a legal conclusion that reasonable suspicion always requires evidence of ongoing criminal activity. Justice Powell expressly refuted this formalistic reading of the reasonable suspicion standard. Although he did not maintain that the drug courier profile automatically demonstrated reasonable suspicion, he noted that “[e]ach case raising a Fourth Amendment issue must be judged on its own facts.” Id. at 565 n. 6, 100 S.Ct. at 1883 n. 6.
The Supreme Court again considered the constitutionality of airport drug stops in Reid v. Georgia, 448 U.S. 438, 100 S.Ct. 2752, 65 L.Ed.2d 890 (1980) (per curiam). The Court found that the DEA agents could not have reasonably suspected Reid of criminal activity based on the few profile characteristics observed. The agents knew only that: 1) Reid had arrived from Fort Lauderdale, 2) he arrived in the early morning, 3) he and his companion tried to conceal the fact that they were traveling together, and 4) they had no luggage other *1427than shoulder bags. Id. at 441,100 S.Ct. at 2754. Although the Court noted that three of these factors described a “very large category of innocent travelers,” the court did not wholly reject reliance on the drug courier profile when more or different factors are present. While conformity with certain aspects of the profile does not automatically create reasonable suspicion, “there could, of course, be circumstances in which wholly lawful conduct might justify the suspicion that criminal activity was afoot.” Id.; see also United States v. Erwin, 803 F.2d 1505, 1511 (9th Cir.1986) (Reid does not preclude all reliance on profile characteristics; it simply indicates that most general characteristics cannot alone support a stop).
Subsequently, in Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. 491, 103 S.Ct. 1319, 75 L.Ed.2d 229 (1983), eight members of the Court found reasonable suspicion based on drug courier profile characteristics. The plurality held that the agents possessed sufficient suspicion for an investigative stop, but that the agents exceeded the permissible bounds of the stop when they moved Royer to a small room for questioning. Id. at 502-05, 103 S.Ct. at 1326-28 (opinion of White, J.). Both dissenting opinions agreed that the agents had reasonable suspicion for the initial detention. See id. at 518, 103 S.Ct. at 1335 (Blackmun, J., dissenting); id. at 524-25, 103 S.Ct. at 1338 (Rehnquist, J., dissenting).
The plurality relied on the following facts to support its finding of reasonable suspicion: 1) Royer was traveling under an assumed name, 2) he paid cash for a one-way ticket, 3) he wrote only a name and destination on his baggage identification tags, and 4) his general appearance and conduct were unusual. Id. at 502, 103 S.Ct. at 1326 (opinion of White, J.). Although Justice White did not explicitly rely on the drug courier profile, all the characteristics he mentioned are commonly included. See id. at 493 n. 2, 103 S.Ct. at 1322 n. 2 (listing characteristics considered by DEA agents to be within the profile).
The majority in the present case contends that Royer’s use of an alias was the requisite evidence of ongoing criminal activity that justified the stop; the other factors were then only relevant once the alias was discovered. This gloss on Justice White’s opinion is wholly unsupportable. Justice White referred to the use of an alias in the reasonable suspicion equation, but he in no way suggested that the alias is the central or absolutely necessary factor that makes all the other factors relevant. Moreover, Justice White expressly rejected the view of the Florida District Court of Appeals that “a mere similarity with the contents of the drug courier profile is insufficient even to constitute ... articulable suspicion.” Id. at 495 n. 7, 103 S.Ct. at 1323 n. 7.
I conclude, therefore, that a fair reading of Supreme Court precedent is that conformity with drug courier profile characteristics does not automatically provide reasonable suspicion, but can justify an investigative stop in a particular case. The fourth amendment requires a case-by-case determination, and on the facts of the case before us the DEA agents possessed reasonable and articulable suspicion that Sokolow was engaged in narcotics trafficking. The agents knew the following facts when they initially approached Sokolow at the airport curbside: 1) Sokolow had just returned to Hawaii from a three-day trip to Miami, a well known source city for drugs, 2) Sokolow paid for his ticket with cash from a large roll of twenty dollar bills, 3) neither Sokolow nor his companion checked any luggage, 4) Sokolow appeared very nervous and looked all around the waiting area during his layover, and 5) Sokolow used the name Andrew Kray on his airline tickets, but his voice was on an answering machine at a phone subscribed to by Karl Herman.
Viewed collectively, these articulable facts were sufficiently suspicious to justify a brief and minimally intrusive investigative detention. Of particular importance is the fact that Sokolow paid $2100 for his tickets from a stack of twenty dollar bills approximately double that amount. Innocent persons do not characteristically carry thousands of dollars in twenty dollar bills on their persons. Certainly, this cash pay*1428ment was inconsistent with a legitimate business trip; Sokolow left no paper trail for reimbursement for his expenses or for tax deductions.
Further, Sokolow’s travel pattern belies-any assumption that he traveled to Miami for a pleasure trip. He flew from Honolulu to Miami, a well known drug source city, on July 22 and returned on July 25, a very short time considering that it takes a minimum of ten hours to travel each way. Also, neither Sokolow nor his companion checked any luggage. These relatively anomalous characteristics enhance the suspicious circumstances of the large cash purchase of the tickets.
Finally, Sokolow was nervous during his layover in Los Angeles and glanced all around the waiting area, hardly a sign of an innocent traveler. The Supreme Court has recognized that nervousness can contribute to the reasonable suspicion calculation. See Royer, 460 U.S. at 498 n. 2, 103 S.Ct. at 1322 n. 2 (opinion of White, J.); Mendenhall, 446 U.S. at 564, 100 S.Ct. at 1882 (opinion of Powell, J.); see also Erwin, 803 F.2d at 1511. The majority dismisses this evidence of nervousness because the record does not explicitly state that Sokolow’s nervousness was indicative of an attempt to evade detection. I find no merit in this distinction. Sokolow’s nervousness was certainly suspicious and was one of many relevant factors to be considered in determining whether the stop was justified.
In Erwin, this court concluded that arrival from a drug source city after a one day stay with only carry on luggage required further particularized evidence to establish founded suspicion. The Erwin court concluded that defendant’s nervous behavior, circuitous route through the airport, and possible effort to conceal the truth fulfilled the requirement of particularized evidence. Id. at 1511. I submit that Sokolow’s payment for his airline ticket in thousands of dollars in twenty dollar bills, coupled with his unusual travel pattern and nervous behavior are more objectively suspicious than the facts on which the Erwin court relied.2
My conclusion that Sokolow’s seizure at curbside was supported by reasonable suspicion requires me to address Sokolow’s additional arguments. Sokolow contends first, that investigative detention ripened into an arrest once he was moved to the DEA office, and second, that the retention of the three pieces of luggage the narcotics dog did not alert to exceeded the permissible limits of an investigative stop. I find that the detention of Sokolow and his luggage in the DEA office for the purpose of subjecting his luggage to a dog sniff was a permissible continuation of the investigative stop and did not constitute a de facto arrest.
The scope of a stop is reasonable if the officers’ action is “reasonably related in scope to the circumstances which justified the interference in the first place.” Terry, 392 U.S. at 20, 88 S.Ct. at 1879. When the facts support a rational and articulable basis to detain an individual, the mere fact that an individual is relocated does not transform the detention into an arrest. See United States v. Chatman, 573 F.2d 565, 567 (9th Cir.1977); see also Royer, 460 U.S. at 504-05, 103 S.Ct. at 1328 (“[tjhere are undoubtedly reasons of safety and security that would justify moving a suspect from one location to another during an investigatory detention, such as from an airport concourse, to a more private area.”)
Even a valid detention can become excessive if it lasts longer or is more intrusive than necessary. See Sharpe, 470 U.S. at 687, 105 S.Ct. at 1576. Here, Sokolow and his luggage were relocated to the DEA
*1429airport office simply because the narcotics detector dog was not allowed to examine luggage in a public area. The agents took only the minimally intrusive step of subjecting Sokolow’s luggage to a dog sniff. See United States v. Place, 462 U.S. 696, 707, 103 S.Ct. 2637, 2644, 77 L.Ed.2d 110 (1983) (dog sniff is minimally intrusive and does not constitute a search within the meaning of the fourth amendment). And the narcotics dog alerted to the luggage only thirteen minutes after the initial encounter between Sokolow and the DEA agents. See Sharpe, 470 U.S. at 687, 105 S.Ct. at 1576 (upholding twenty minute detention where agent pursued his investigation in a diligent and reasonable manner); cf. Place, 462 U.S. at 709, 103 S.Ct. at 2645 (finding ninety minute detention excessive where agents knew of defendant’s scheduled arrival and could have been more diligent in arranging investigation). The temporary relocation and brief detention were not, under the circumstances, so unreasonable as to constitute an impermissible de facto arrest.
Contrary to Sokolow’s position, the decision in Royer does not dictate a different result. The Court found in Royer that the officers’ conduct in removing Royer to a small, windowless room for interrogation was “more intrusive than necessary to effectuate an investigative detention ...” 460 U.S. at 504, 103 S.Ct. at 1328 (opinion of White, J.). First, the Court noted that the defendant was apparently relocated for no other reason than to obtain his consent to a search of his luggage. Id. at 505, 103 S.Ct. at 1328. Here, on the other hand, narcotics dogs were not allowed in the public areas of the airport and therefore important safety and security reasons justified the relocation. Second, the Court pointed out that the narcotics agents could feasibly have investigated the contents of Royer’s bags in a more expeditious manner by using trained dogs. Id. at 505, 103 S.Ct. at 1328. This recommended investigative technique was exactly the one used in the instant case.
Once the narcotics dog alerted to the brown shoulder bag, the DEA agents had probable cause to arrest Sokolow. See Royer, 460 U.S. at 506, 103 S.Ct. at 1329. The positive alert also- provided probable cause to obtain a search warrant and to detain the bag pending issuance of the warrant. See Place, 462 U.S. at 701-02, 103 S.Ct. at 2641-42; United States v. Martell, 654 F.2d 1356, 1360 (9th Cir.1981), cert. denied, 463 U.S. 1213, 103 S.Ct. 3551, 77 L.Ed.2d 1397 (1983). Sokolow argues, however, that the agents impermissibly detained the three pieces of unalerted to luggage for an additional 170 minutes until the first bag was searched, exceeding the 90 minute detention the Court found unreasonable in Place. 462 U.S. at 709,103 S.Ct. at 2645.
This case, unlike Place, did not involve an investigative detention, but rather the detention of a person’s luggage as incident to his lawful arrest. Thus, the luggage detention did not implicate any of the fourth amendment interests discussed in Place. First, Sokolow’s privacy interest in the contents of his luggage was not impaired by the agents simply holding his luggage. Cf. id. at 706-07, 103 S.Ct. at 2644. Second, Sokolow’s liberty interest in proceeding with his trip was not implicated because he was restrained not by the detention of his luggage, but by his lawful arrest. Cf. id. at 708, 103 S.Ct. at 2645. And third, Sokolow had a possessory interest in his luggage. Id. But the agents could reasonably assume that an arrestee wants his property held in safekeeping, especially considering that Sokolow made no other request regarding the disposition of his luggage.
After the search of the shoulder bag yielded no apparent narcotics, the probable cause to hold Sokolow and his remaining luggage evaporated. The subsequent detention of the luggage for a second dog sniff, however, was justified by new grounds for reasonable suspicion that arose after the first dog sniff. The government contends that this suspicion existed on the basis of the following: 1) Sokolow had been identified as a cocaine customer, 2) Sokolow made a statement that he was in big trouble, 3) he possessed other used airline tickets to Miami and ho*1430tel receipts under the name Kray, 4) he had other used airline tickets to Miami under yet a third name, 5) he kept a debit sheet consistent with drug records, and 6) he carried an address book containing the names and addresses of suspected drug traffickers. Under these circumstances, it was reasonable to detain the remaining luggage for 35 minutes to subject it to a second dog sniff. The dog’s second alert constituted probable cause to detain the alerted to bag until the agents obtained a search warrant. The search pursuant to a valid warrant uncovered the over 1000 grams of cocaine that Sokolow seeks to suppress.
In sum, the majority’s approach effectively throttles the efforts of drug enforcement agents to combat escalating narcotics trafficking. The fourth amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. In my view, it is entirely reasonable for agents to detain and question a suspected drug courier briefly based upon a rational profile. Therefore, the district court did not err in refusing to suppress the over 1000 grams of cocaine seized from defendant Sokolow.

. The specific elements of the profile vary among airports, in accordance with the experience of DEA agents at a particular location. The original profile, developed in Detroit by DEA Special Agent Paul Markonni consists of seven "primary characteristics” and four "secondary characteristics.” The primary characteristics are: 1) arrival from or departure to an identified source city; 2) carrying little or no luggage; 3) traveling by an unusual itinerary; 4) use of an alias; 5) carrying unusually large amounts of currency; 6) buying airline tickets with a large amount of small denomination currency; and 7) unusual nervousness. The secondary characteristics are: 1) the almost exclusive use of public transportation; 2) immediately making a telephone call after deplaning; 3) leaving a false call back number with the airline; and 4) excessive travel to source or distribution cities. See Cloud, Search and Seizure by the Numbers: The Drug Courier Profile and Judicial Review of Investigative Formulas, 65 B.U.L.Rev. 843, 871 n. 120 (1985) (citing United States v. Elmore, 595 F.2d 1036, 1039 n. 3 (5th Cir.1979); cert. denied, 447 U.S. 910, 100 S.Ct. 2998, 64 L.Ed.2d 861 (1980)).

. The Erwin court relied heavily on defendant's use of an allegedly circuitous route through the airport to distinguish itself from Reid where defendant's arrival in the early morning from a drug source city without checked luggage was held to be too generalized to constitutionally warrant a Terry stop. I dissented in Erwin because I disagreed with the majority that a circuitous route and possibly implausible explanation were sufficient facts to distinguish Erwin from Reid, and because I believed the record did not support the court’s conclusion that the defendant was "nervous'' before he was detained. I take the opposite view here because I believe the agents' suspicions were reasonably backed by specific facts that would not apply wholesale to innocent persons. Erwin, 803 F.2d at 1511-13 (Wiggins, J., dissenting).