Court Opinion

ID: 9414255
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-01 23:43:23.913917+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T16:47:20.662462
License: Public Domain

CARL E. STEWART, Circuit Judge,
specially concurring:
I agree with the majority that this case should be remanded because the district court did not determine: (1) whether the immigration stop was complete when Agent Woodruff began his second round of questioning of Chacon and his companion, and (2) whether there was probable cause to arrest Chacon. I write separately because I find the majority’s discussion of the mindset of the officer and the limitations of this Court’s decision in Portillo-Aguirre unnecessary to our decision at this time. The district court’s answer to the first question, which it understandably did not make because Portillo-Aguirre and Machuca-Barrera had not been decided at that time, is key to resolving this case. If the district court finds that the immigration stop was not complete, then and only then, will it be necessary for this Court to expound on the motivations behind Agent Woodruffs actions and the interpretation of Portillo-Aguirre and other relevant case law. Moreover, depending on the district court’s probable cause determination, the outcome of this case could change dramatically.
In short, I agree that the case must be remanded in order for the district court to determine these critical determinations, but I do not join in the opinion’s advisory discussion of the limits of Portillo-Aguirre, the possible motivations and ramifications of Agent Woodruffs behavior, and its premature finding that Agent Woodruffs questioning of Chacon and his *330companion could not violate the Fourth Amendment.