Court Opinion

ID: 9453422
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 18:12:36.0639+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:33:38.916280
License: Public Domain

JERTBERG, Circuit Judge
(dissenting):
The holding of the majority opinion is that the arrest of the defendant at Las Vegas was lawful because the defendant was committing a crime in the presence of the arresting officer, and that the seizure of the contraband from the person of the defendant was lawful because incident to a lawful arrest.
The majority reaches such conclusion by stating that the search made by the arresting officer at Los Angeles, the night before the arrest of defendant at Las Vegas, was no search at all “in the constitutional sense.” I cannot agree. When Falbaum, the Customs Agent and *64the arresting officer, arrived at the Los Angeles airport for his inspection, the suitcases were closed. The majority-opinion states:
“The record is not clear as to whether the lids of the unlocked suitcases were physically lifted by airport employees, or by Falbaum himself, or by both.”
My reading of the record convinces me that Falbaum opened the suitcases. If, as suggested in the majority opinion, some airport employee may have opened or assisted Falbaum in opening the suitcases, this was done after the arrival at the airport of Falbaum, and in his presence as a Customs Agent of the United States, and at his tacit direction. In my view, Falbaum must be charged with the opening of the lids to the suitcases.
After the suitcases were opened, Falbaum examined the contents before he learned that they were contraband. In this respect he testified that it was only after he had broken open several of the packages of watch movements in the suitcases, and carefully examined them, that the examination revealed the absence on the watch movements of the importer’s symbol on some of the watch movements, or the presence of an obliterated symbol on others. It was only through this unlawful search that Falbaum had probable cause to arrest the defendant the following day at Las Vegas, and seize the contraband.
I readily admit that at the time of the arrest of the defendant, Falbaum knew that the suitcases contained contraband, but his knowledge of such fact was based entirely upon the unlawful search of the suitcases at Los Angeles on the night before. In my view the search at Los Angeles was made without probable cause, as was the arrest of the defendant at Las Vegas.
Since the majority opinion does not mention the failure of the Customs Officer to make any effort whatsoever to obtain a search warrant, either from a Commissioner at Los Angeles or Las Vegas, I refrain from any discussion thereof.
I would reverse the judgment of conviction and remand the cause to the district court for further proceedings.