Court Opinion

ID: 9499030
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 17:35:53.977726+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:59:14.514837
License: Public Domain

ALARCÓN, Circuit Judge,
concurring and dissenting:
I concur in the Majority’s holding that the Government did not egregiously. deprive Jose of his right to due process in delaying to advise him of his Miranda rights and in failing to bring him before a magistrate judge “forthwith.” Majority Op. at 1124.
I respectfully dissent from the Majority’s puzzling and contradictory determination that “[t]he government law enforcement agents flagrantly violated the JDA in this case,” Majority Op. at 1125, but that their conduct “did not, in the circumstances presented, affect the fundamental fairness of the proceedings.” Majority Op. at 1124-1125.
Respectfully, I cannot join the Majority’s number because (1) it has failed in its duty to view the evidence in the light most favorable to the prevailing party, and (2) it has ignored this Circuit’s harmless error standard of review for JDA violations and instead, fashioned a prejudicial per se standard that is applicable even to a good faith and harmless failure to comply with the JDA. Under the law of this Circuit, violations of the JDA are reviewed under the harmless error standard. A three-judge panel cannot overturn the law of this Circuit. See Taylor v. Burlington Northern R.R. Co., 787 F.2d 1309, 1313 (9th Cir.1986) (explaining that a three-judge panel must follow Ninth Circuit precedent). I would affirm the District Court’s well-reasoned conclusion that the agents’ “technical violation” of the JDA was not egregious, and, therefore, the agents’ failure to comply with its requirements was not prejudicial. I would not remand this matter for an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the information should be dismissed. In so holding, the Majority has violated the Supreme Court’s express holding in United States v. Morrison, 449 U.S. 361, 365, 101 S.Ct. 665, 66 L.Ed.2d 564 (1981) that dismissal of an accusatory pleading is not a proper remedy where statements obtained from an accused must be excluded. The District Court did not consider any evidence obtained in violation of the JDA in finding that Jose was guilty of importing cocaine into the United States. The Majority has also erred in directing the District Court to apply a proof beyond a reasonable doubt standard upon remand in determining whether the alleged nonconstitutional error was harmless.
I
Because the Majority has, contrary to the law of this Circuit, improperly insinuated its own factual and credibility findings in its summary of the evidence, I will set *1128forth the evidence presented to the District Court in the light most favorable to the Government as the prevailing party. See United States v. Cluchette, 465 F.2d 749, 754 (9th Cir.1972) (“It is not our function to re-weigh the evidence and pass on the credibility of the witnesses.”); see also Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979) (“Once a defendant has been found guilty of the crime charged, the factfinder’s role as weigher of the evidence is preserved through a legal conclusion that upon judicial review all of the evidence is to be considered in the light most favorable to the prosecution.”); Minidoka Irrigation Dist. v. Dep’t of Interior, 406 F.3d 567, 572 (9th Cir.2005) (stating that “in reviewing [a] district court’[s] findings of fact for clear error, we must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the prevailing party”) (internal quotations and citation omitted).
Mark Hill testified that he was a primary inspector with the United States Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”). At 4:16 p.m. on May 10, 2005, Officer Hill was on duty at the San Ysidro, California Port of Entry inspecting vehicles entering the United States. At that time, a gray Toyota 4-Runner with Mexican license plates approached Officer Hill’s lane for inspection. The vehicle was driven by Jose, a fifteen-year-old juvenile. Jose immediately handed Officer Hill a Mexican border crossing card before he was asked for identification.
Officer Hill asked Jose who owned the vehicle. Jose first responded that he was the owner. A couple of seconds later, he stated that the vehicle belonged to his uncle. Because of his contradictory statements, Officer Hill asked Jose for the vehicle registration. Jose reached into the glove compartment and extracted what appeared to be a vehicle registration. Before the document was handed to Officer Hill, Jose was asked to disclose his uncle’s name. Jose looked at the vehicle registration and replied: “Daniel.”
Officer Hill asked Jose why he was entering the United States. He replied that he was going shopping for his mother. When asked whether he was transporting anything into the United States, Jose replied: “Nothing.”
Officer Hill testified that during this conversation, Jose’s “mouth appeared to get dry and he moved his eyes around a lot.” Based on Jose’s responses and his demeanor, Officer Hill decided to inspect the vehicle. After obtaining the keys to the vehicle from Jose, Officer Hill tapped on the rear quarter panel on the driver’s side. It emitted an extremely solid sound. Based on his law enforcement experience, the door panel’s condition indicated to him that there was something hidden inside the quarter panel. Officer Hill next tapped the quarter panel on the passenger’s side. It also felt solid.
Officer Hill removed one of the panels with a screw driver and discovered square or rectangular packages inside. He then placed handcuffs on Jose. Officer Hill patted down Jose. Officer Hill did not find any money, an ATM card, or credit cards in Jose’s possession. This was significant to Officer Hill because Jose had stated that he had entered the United States to go shopping for his mother. Officer Hill escorted Jose to the security office and turned the vehicle over to Officer Rodrigo Lopez. As Jose walked to the security office, he appeared “somber.” He was not interrogated further by Officer Hill.
Officer Rodrigo Lopez testified that he was a customs officer with the CBP. On May 10, 2005, Officer Lopez was assigned to the secondary inspection lot at the Port of Entry. Officer Lopez inspected the quarter panels of the vehicle driven by Jose. He observed packages wrapped in *1129black electrical tape. He then drove the vehicle to an x-ray area to determine whether there was contraband in any other part of the vehicle. Officer Lopez poked one of the packages and discovered that it contained white powder. He tested the powder. It tested positive for cocaine. Officer Lopez removed twenty-five packages from the vehicle. The total weight of the packages was 29.68 kilograms, or 63.3 pounds.
Maurice Wrighten testified that he was a Special Agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”). He was assigned to investigate narcotics smuggling into the United States. Special Agent Wrighten was qualified as an expert regarding the retail or street value of cocaine. He testified that in San Diego, the retail value of the cocaine seized from the vehicle for personal use was $2,371,696.
■ Agent Eveleen Cabrera testified that she is employed by ICE as a criminal investigator. At the time of the trial, she had served in that capacity for approximately a year and a half. On May 10, 2005, she was assigned to the Port of Entry. At 5:15 p.m., she was requested to notify Jose’s parents, his guardian, or his custodian that he had been arrested as he entered the United States. When she met Jose, he was sitting in the security office. He was not in handcuffs.
Agent Cabrera asked Jose if he knew why he was being detained. He replied that the inspectors told him that they had found drugs in the vehicle he was driving. Agent Cabrera then told Jose that because he was a minor, she was required to contact his parents. Agent Cabrera asked him for his parents’ phone number. Jose replied that his family did not have a telephone. He gave Agent Cabrera his cousin’s telephone number in Mexico.
When Agent Cabrera dialed that number, Maria Del Rosario Llanes-Angulo (“Ms.Llanes-Angulo”) answered the call. She identified herself as Jose’s aunt. Agent Cabrera informed Ms. Llanes-Angulo that Jose was being detained for bringing drugs into the United States. Agent Cabrera asked Ms. Llanes-Angulo if she could contact Jose’s mother or father. Ms. Llanes-Angulo replied that Jose’s mother was at work and did not have access to a telephone. She told Agent Cabrera that she would try to contact Jose’s mother at her work place. Ms. Llanes-Angulo told Agent Cabrera that she did not know how to contact Jose’s father because his parents had separated. She promised to try to track him down.
Agent Cabrera asked Ms. Llanes-Angulo if she could come to the Port of Entry. Ms. Llanes-Angulo stated that she lived far away and “it would take her an hour and a half to even get there.” Agent Cabrera asked Ms. Llanes-Angulo if it would be okay for the agents to talk to Jose. She replied: “[Y]es.” Agent Cabrera asked Ms. Llanes-Angulo to come to the Port of Entry, if she failed to contact Jose’s parents.
Agent Cabrera testified on cross-examination that she had handled ten to fifteen other investigations in which a juvenile was involved. In each of those cases, the procedure she followed was similar to the one she followed in this matter. That procedure consisted of determining whether it was necessary to notify the juvenile of the nature of the offense that resulted in his or her arrest, and to elicit the names of his or her parents, guardian or custodian in order to notify them of the arrest or detention of the minor. It was fully consistent with the requirements of § 5033 of the JDA.
Agent Cabrera testified that the only involvement she had in this matter was to determine whether Jose was aware of the reason for his detention, and to make the telephone call to Ms. Llanes-Angulo. Her *1130work in this matter was complete after she attempted to contact Jose’s parents. She did not participate in the interrogation of Jose after he waived his Miranda rights or in transporting him to a magistrate judge for arraignment.
Contrary to the Majority’s factual finding, Agent Cabrera did not interrogate Jose. She merely asked him if he knew why he was being detained. His response that the inspectors told him that they had found drugs in the vehicle he was driving made it unnecessary to notify him why he was being detained. She did not inquire further about his alleged criminal activity. Jose’s statement to her was not incriminating. It was based on hearsay. Its admissibility at trial on the issue of guilt would have been doubtful because it merely reflected what he had been told by the inspectors. It was not an admission that he was aware that he was smuggling drugs into the United States. The Government did not file a cross-appeal challenging the District Court’s interpretation of § 5033 and the order suppressing Jose’s statements to the agents. Accordingly, this Court need not decide whether the suppression order was valid in light of Agent Cabrera’s unsuccessful attempt to notify Jose’s parents because they had no telephone.
Edward Zuchelli testified that he was an ICE case agent assigned to investigate whether Jose should be charged with smuggling cocaine into the United States. Shortly after 5:00 p.m., he spoke to Agent Cabrera. She told him Ms. Llanes-Angulo was not able to get to the Port of Entry for an hour and a half.
Moisés Martinez testified that he was a Special Agent assigned to the ICE. He testified that Jose read the Miranda rights aloud in Spanish at approximately 5:24 p.m. Special Agent Martinez asked Jose to initial the notification of rights form if he understood the constitutional rights set forth therein. Jose signed a waiver of his Miranda rights that was also in Spanish. Jose also signed a waiver of his right to require the agents to notify the Mexican consulate of his arrest or detention. Nevertheless, the agents notified the Mexican Consulate by facsimile at 7:06 p.m. that Jose had been detained at the Port of Entry. Nine minutes after Jose waived his Miranda rights, the agents interrogated Jose for twenty-five to thirty minutes. During this conversation, Jose’s right hand was free, but his left wrist was handcuffed to a metal pole on the table for the safety of the officers pursuant to the agency’s procedures. Jose’s father arrived at the security office at 7:26 p.m., after the agents had completed questioning Jose.
Agent Zuchelli testified that they had not waited for Ms. Llanes-Angulo or Jose’s parents to arrive before questioning Jose because “[sjince we’re dealing with a minor things had to be done expeditiously. Also the nature of the drugs — when I found out it was cocaine — it was a substantial amount of cocaine and I also had to proceed' quickly.” During cross-examination, Agent Zuchelli also stated that he did not wait for an hour and a half before questioning Jose because it was necessary “to speed up the process being the juvenile has to be dealt with forthwith.”
The record shows that Agent Zuchelli has handled approximately four cases involving juveniles prior to questioning Jose. Agent Zuchelli was not asked to describe the procedure he had previously followed in cases involving juveniles.
The Majority states that “the government law enforcement officers flagrantly violated the JDA in this case.” Majority Op. at 1125. The Majority has also found that “government law enforcement agents trample even the most basic requirements of the JDA.” Majority Op. at 1125.
*1131In a later passage, the Majority states: “We do not believe that it furthers Congress’s intent to allow the government, in case after case, to ignore with impunity the protective requirements of the JDA.” Majority Op. at 1125. My dictionary instructs me that “impunity” means: “Exemption from punishment or penalty.” Oxford English Dictionary (2d ed.1989). The record shows that the District Court did not allow the failure of Agent Cabrera to notify Jose’s parents to go unpunished. Citing United States v. Doe, 862 F.2d 776 (9th Cir.1988) (“Doe II”), the District Court suppressed each of Jose’s statements because of Agent Cabrera’s “technical violation of 5033” in failing to notify his aunt of his constitutional rights.
The Majority’s attempt to discredit Agent Zuchelli’s testimony by relying on the conduct of other officers in prior cases, who were not involved in the interrogation and processing of Jose through the Court system, violates the principle that appellate judges lack the power to weigh credibility or decide factual issues. Cluchette, 465 F.2d at 754. It also has ignored the rule that appellate judges must construe the record in the light most favorable to the party that prevailed in the trial court. Jackson, 443 at 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781. Instead of construing the evidence and the District Court’s findings that the violation of the JDA by Agent Cabrera was “technical” and that Jose’s statement was voluntary, the Majority has found that the officers’ conduct in this case was flagrant and trampled on his rights with impunity. The Majority has improperly acted as a trier of fact in reviewing the testimony of the witnesses in this matter and in going outside the record in considering the conduct of other officers in unrelated cases to bolster its findings.
II
The District Court denied Jose’s motion to dismiss the information on the ground that Jose was not taken to a magistrate judge “forthwith” as required by § 5033. I agree with the Majority’s conclusion that the delay in bringing Jose before a magistrate judge was not so egregious as to deprive Jose of his constitutional right to due process. Majority Op. at 1125. I also agree with the Majority that “there is no evidence that the government tried to use the delay to its advantage or that the delay was undertaken in bad faith.” Majority Op. at 1125.
I strongly disagree with the Majority’s conclusion that the District Court held that the failure of Agent Cabrera to notify Jose’s parents of his arrest was prejudicial. In suppressing Jose’s statements, the District Court reasoned as follows:
In this case, the Court concludes that there was a violation of 5033 by the testimony of both the aunt and Agent Cabrera. Nobody notified the custodian, the aunt or parents of the rights of the juvenile prior to questioning. They were notified of the circumstances involving drugs, but it does require a notification of rights. Now the Court having concluded that there was a technical violation of § 5033, the question then becomes what is the remedy?
Tr. of Motion Hearing/Court Trial at 1-83, June 1, 2005 (emphasis added).
The Majority has summarized the District Court’s rationale for suppressing Jose’s statements as follows: “The court also properly suppressed at trial, Jose’s statements, because it found the failure to properly notify Jose’s parents was prejudicial, in that it ‘caused’ him to make his statement.” Majority Op. at 1126.
The District Court did not find that the failure to notify Jose’s parents was prejudicial because it caused Jose to make a statement. In fact, the record shows that the District Court found that the violation was “technical” and that “the statement *1132that the juvenile made was voluntary under the totality of the circumstances.” Tr. of Motion Hearing/Court Trial at 1-85. The District Court also stated: “[I]f the juvenile elects to testify, then, because I don’t think it’s a due process violation, I think that the statement was voluntary. Then if the juvenile elects to testify, you may examine the juvenile about any statements made.” Id.
In support of its analysis of the impact of the officer’s technical violation of Jose’s statutory rights, the Majority finds that “over thirty years afer the JDA was enacted, government law enforcement agents trample even the most basic requirements of the JDA.” Majority Op. at 1125. In a later passage, the Majority states “[w]e do not believe that it furthers Congress’s intent to allow the government, in case after case, to ignore with impunity the protective requirements of the JDA.” Id.
There is no evidence in the record that supports the Majority’s factual finding that the officers acted in this matter with impunity or that they trampled on the protective requirements of the JDA for over thirty years. Instead of citing testimony in this case to support its factual findings, the Majority mysteriously relies on the testimony presented in five cases decided by this Circuit in which the record apparently showed JDA violations. It should be noted, however, that the failure of the officers to follow the JDA was found to be harmless in each of these cases. The conduct of the officers found to be harmless in the cases cited by the Majority cannot logically be relied upon as proof that the agents in this case flagrantly trampled on Jose’s JDA rights without fear of being punished or sanctioned for their conduct.
The most alarming aspect of the Majority’s opinion is its refusal to apply the law of this Circuit which clearly provides that we must affirm if a juvenile fails to demonstrate that he or she was prejudiced as a result of the failure of law enforcement officers to comply with the JDA. Instead, it has created a new rule that a violation of the requirements of § 5033 is prejudicial per se. The Majority has cited five decisions of this Court that provide that we must apply the harmless error standard of review when law enforcement officers fail to follow the requirements of the JDA. Majority Op. at 1125 -1126. It has defiantly declined, however, to follow the law of this Circuit as set forth in the cited eases. The Majority excuses its recalcitrance by stating: “Courts should not close their eyes to these continuing violations by mindlessly reciting the rubric of harmless error as an overarching excuse for ignoring what Congress has clearly ordained.” Majority Op. at 1125. What the Majority airily dismisses as “rubric” is the law of this Circuit. A three-judge panel of this Court is required to follow the law of the Circuit. Taylor, 787 F.2d at 1313. The Majority has failed to demonstrate that the agents’ good faith attempt to comply with the JDA was egregious or prejudicial.
Ill
A
Notwithstanding its determination that the officers did not act in bad faith in failing to comply with the JDA, nor was their conduct so egregious as to “affect the fundamental fairness of the proceeding,” Majority Op. at 1125, the Majority has surprisingly ordered a remand for a determination by the District Court “whether it is clear beyond a reasonable doubt that, at the time the juvenile information was filed, the government’s use of Jose’s confession to prove up the indictment on the essential element of knowledge was harmless.” Majority Op. at 1126.
*1133The Majority apparently believes that the suppression of an accused’s statement, in which he or she admits knowledge of the commission of a crime, also compels the dismissal of an accusatory pleading. This conclusion is squarely contrary to the principle announced in the Supreme Court’s decision in Morrison, 449 U.S. at 365, 101 S.Ct. 665. In Morrison, the Court held that when the Government has improperly obtained incriminating information from an accused “the remedy characteristically imposed is not to dismiss the indictment but to suppress the evidence or to order a new trial if the evidence has been wrongfully admitted and the defendant convicted.” Id. Here, the District Court dutifully complied with Morrison by excluding Jose’s statements. The Supreme Court instructed in Morrison that where evidence has been obtained in violation of the Fourth, Fifth, or Sixth Amendments, “[t]he remedy in the criminal proceeding is limited to denying the fruits of the transgression.” Id. at 366, 101 S.Ct. 665. The Court also stated:
Our numerous precedents ordering the exclusion of such illegally obtained evidence assume implicitly that the remedy does not extend to barring the prosecution altogether. So drastic a step might advance marginally some of the ends served by exclusionary rules, but it would also increase to an intolerable degree interference with the public interest in having the guilty brought to book.
Id. at 366 n. 3, 101 S.Ct. 665 (quoting United States v. Blue, 384 U.S. 251, 255, 86 S.Ct. 1416, 16 L.Ed.2d 510 (1966)).
In United States v. Winsett, 518 F.2d 51 (9th Cir.1976), we stated: “As it serves the purpose of deterring police misconduct, the exclusionary rule is a ‘needed but grudgingly taken, medicament; no more should be swallowed than is needed to combat the disease.’ ” Id. at 54 n. 4 (quoting Anthony G. Amsterdam, Search, Seizure and Section 2255: A Comment, 112 U.Pa.L.Rev. 378, 389 (1964)). The termination of this action by dismissing the information is a lethal remedy that would be summarily rejected by the Supreme Court as a violation of the Morrison decision because the District Court suppressed each of Jose’s statements.
The Majority has cited Doe II, 862 F.2d at 776 for the proposition that “[i]f a violation of the JDA was prejudicial because it led the Government to initiate prosecution of the juvenile, the remedy is for the charges against the juvenile to be dismissed.” Majority Op. at 1126, citing Doe II, 862 F.2d at 781. In fashioning a remedy that would interfere with the public’s interest that the guilty should be prosecuted for their crimes, the three-judge panel that reviewed the Doe II case did not cite or discuss the Supreme Court’s decision in Morrison that expressly bars the dismissal of an accusatory pleading even in the face of constitutional error. The Doe II case is also factually distinguishable. In Doe II, unlike the circumstances in the matter sub judice, the juvenile’s statements were introduced into evidence. Doe, 862 F.2d at 778.
The Majority also cites United States v. Juvenile (RRA-A), 229 F.3d 737 (9th Cir.2000) as supporting authority for the notion that a federal court may “ensure that the ‘prophylactic safeguard for juveniles [is not] eroded or neglected.’ ” Majority Op. at 1125. The Majority’s reliance on RRA-A is misleading. We did not hold in RRA-A that a district court may dismiss an information as a sanction for a violation of the JDA.
We held in RRA-A that because, “RRA-A’s confession was the primary basis of evidence on which she was convicted[,] ... RRA-A’s confession should, accordingly, have been suppressed.” RRA-A 229 F.3d at 747. We did not hold that dismissal of the information was an appropriate reme*1134dy for a violation of the JDA. Instead, we reversed the conviction and remanded the matter to the district court. Id. at 748. Contrary to Majority’s characterization of the holding in RRA-A, the remand was presumably for a determination by the Government if it could connect RRA-A to the alleged criminal offense in a re-trial, without the use of her confession. Thus, unlike Doe II, this Court’s opinion in RRA-A is quite faithful to the Supreme Court’s decision in Morrison. Because Doe II is inconsistent with Morrison, we cannot apply it in this matter. “Controlling law in this case, as in all cases governed by federal law, is what Congress has enacted and what the Supreme Court has said regarding the key matters on which the case turns.” Hulteen v. AT & T Corporation, 441 F.3d 653, 657 (9th Cir.2006). “Once we understand the terms of controlling law, we can then determine whether there is circuit precedent that is inconsistent. If so, we will have no choice but to ignore such precedent or, to put it more delicately, conclude that such precedent is not binding.” Id. at 657-658.
In Doe II, the majority decision ignored the controlling law set forth in Morrison, or simply failed to discover it in its research. In any case, it is not binding on this Court. Dismissal of an information is not an available remedy even where the Government has obtained a statement from an accused in violation of the Constitution. In relying on Doe II, the Majority in this matter has apparently chosen to ignore or defy the principle announced in Morrison, nor has it even attempted to explain why Morrison is inapplicable if a statement is excluded because of nonconstitutional errors committed by officers in violation of the JDA.
B
The Majority has also erred in instructing the District Court to apply the reasonable doubt standard in determining whether the statutory violations of the JDA were harmless. Majority Op. at 1126. The Majority cites Doe II for this standard.
The Majority in Doe II stated that if a violation of the JDA did not amount to a due process violation, the question was whether the “violation [was] harmless to the juvenile beyond a reasonable doubt.” Doe II, 862 F.2d at 779. The harmless beyond-a-reasonable-doubt test applies only to violations of the Constitution. See United States v. Lane, 474 U.S. 438, 446 n. 9, 106 S.Ct. 725, 88 L.Ed.2d 814 (1986); see also Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 24, 87 S.Ct. 824, 17 L.Ed.2d 705 (1967) (devising beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard for harmless error for constitutional violations). “Traditionally, the courts have viewed as constitutional errors those errors violating specific provisions of the Bill of Rights.” United States v. Valle-Valdez, 554 F.2d 911, 916 (9th Cir.1977) (internal quotations and citation omitted). For non-constitutional error, we apply a less stringent standard. Id.; see also Lane, 474 U.S. at 446 n. 9, 106 S.Ct. 725 (stating that the test for “constitutional errors is considerably more onerous than the standard for non-constitutional errors.”). In the case of nonconstitutional error, we ask whether the error was more probably than not harmless. Valle-Valdez, 554 F.2d at 916; Kotteakos v. United States, 328 U.S. 750, 758-59, 66 S.Ct. 1239, 90 L.Ed. 1557 (1946) (asking whether nonconstitutional error may have had a substantial influence on the outcome of the proceeding).
The authority cited by this Court in Doe II supports this distinction. It does not support the premise for which it was cited in Doe II. In Bank of Nova Scotia v. United States, 487 U.S. 250, 108 S.Ct. 2369, 101 L.Ed.2d 228 (1988), the Supreme Court held that “[i]t would be inappropriate to devise a rule permitting federal courts to deal more sternly with nonconsti*1135tutional harmless errors than with constitutional errors that are likewise harmless.” Id. at 256, 108 S.Ct. 2369. In Bank of Nova Scotia, the Court applied a test for nonconstitutional error it had previously articulated in Kotteakos, 328 U.S. at 758-59, 66 S.Ct. 1239. Id.
Similarly, in United States v. Indian Boy X, 565 F.2d 585 (9th Cir.1977), we concluded that the appropriate standard for a violation of the JDA was whether the “error was more probably than not harmless.” Id. at 592. Therefore, although in Doe II the Court misstated the appropriate standard to be applied by an appellate court in reviewing nonconstitutional error, it cited cases that applied the appropriate standard. Furthermore, the majority in Doe II did not instruct the district court to determine whether the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Instead, the majority in Doe II held that an appellate court’s duty in reviewing nonconstitutional error is to determine “was the violation harmless to the juvenile beyond a reasonable doubt?” Doe II, 862 F.2d at 779. Contrary to the Majority’s instruction to the district court in this matter, Doe II does not provide that a district court must determine whether there was nonconstitutional error beyond a reasonable doubt.
In Doe II, this Court stated that dismissal was appropriate because it had the “discretion to reverse or to order more limited remedies so as to ensure that Doe’s rights are safeguarded.” Doe II, 862 F.2d at 780 (emphasis added). We have the discretion to determine the appropriate remedy, consistent with binding legal authority, for violations of the JDA. It would be an abuse of discretion as a matter of law to dismiss an information in violation of the Supreme Court’s instruction in Momson that dismissal of an accusatory pleading is not a proper remedy where evidence was excluded at trial.
IV
The Majority’s remand order will undoubtedly leave the District Court totally baffled in another respect. The District Court excluded all of Jose’s statements because Agent Cabrera failed to notify Jose’s aunt or his parents of his constitutional rights. It found Jose guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, however, based on his false statements to the primary inspection officer about his reason for entering the United States, his demeanor, and the huge quantity of cocaine he was smuggling into the United States. That evidence was obtained before Jose was arrested. Jose has not challenged the sufficiency of the evidence produced at his trial to establish his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Majority states that “[t]he record is silent as to what other evidence the government could have produced at the time the juvenile information was filed to prove up the essential element of knowledge.” Majority Op. at 1126. This statement ignores the evidence produced at trial and the law of this circuit that knowledge can be inferred from the mere possession of a large amount of drugs. See United States v. Cervantes, 219 F.3d 882, 893 (9th Cir.2000) (inferring knowledge from the possession of 30 pounds of methamphetamine); see also Gaylor v. United States, 426 F.2d 233, 235 (9th Cir.1970) (holding that testimony as to the value of cocaine was relevant to the issue of knowledge since it tended to refute “the possibility that a stranger could have placed such a valuable cargo in a vehicle in the hope that the vehicle could be followed and the cocaine later recovered in the United States.”).
Here, 63.3 pounds of cocaine, with a street value of more than two million dollars, were found hidden in the vehicle driven by Jose. This evidence was clearly sufficient under the law of this Circuit to *1136demonstrate that he had knowledge that he was smuggling cocaine without reliance on his statements to the officers.
I would affirm the District Court’s judgment in all respects. I would not require the District Court to determine whether the information should be dismissed because Agent Cabrera failed to notify his parents, before he was interrogated by other officers. The dismissal of the information would surely be summarily reversed in a subsequent appeal by the Government since it would be in violation of the rule announced by our nation’s highest court in Morrison.