Court Opinion

ID: 9455581
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 19:26:15.369635+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:34:38.840961
License: Public Domain

BYRNE, District Judge:
I respectfully dissent.
The majority reverses “in light of our subsequent decision in United States v. Guadalupe-Garza, 421 F.2d 876 (9th Cir. Feb. 2, 1970).” .
Guadalupe-Garza is distinguishable from the instant case on two main grounds; (1) the factual settings of the cases are significantly different; and (2) the rule of “real suspicion” that was defined in Guadalupe-Garza has no application to the issues in the present case.
The Guadalupe-Garza court stated, “neither Henderson nor our decisions following it have further defined the ‘real suspicion’ test stated there. We do so now.” Reference to certain facts in Henderson as well as those in Guadalupe-Garza is necessary to a clear understanding of the decision in Guadalupe-Garza and what was intended as the definition of the “real suspicion” test stated in Henderson.
The crux of this court’s reversal in Henderson concerned the request by the Inspectress that the appellant bend over and “with her hands pull her buttocks apart and up to permit inspection of her vagina”. This was followed by the removal of narcotics from appellant’s va*633gina. In the absence of needle marks on appellant’s body, vaseline around the vagina, or other circumstances Henderson held that the “clear indication” or “plain suggestion” required by Schmerber v. California, 384 U.S. 757, 86 S.Ct. 1826, 16 L.Ed.2d 908 (1966), and by Rivas v. United States, 368 F.2d 703 (C.A. 9, 1966) was not satisfied to justify an intrusive search of appellant’s vagina.
With regard to the searches of the person of Guadalupe-Garza, the court said, “The scope of the particular intrusion, the manner of its conduct, and the justification for initiating it must all be considered. The test of reasonableness is incapable of comprehensive definition or of mechanical application; in each case the need for the particular search is balanced against the invasion that the search entails.” (citations omitted)
Guadalupe-Garza was taken to a hospital and upon the direction of a customs agent, a doctor probed his rectal tract. The result was negative. A vocational nurse then injected an emetic into his hip to induce vomiting. He “regurgitated an insufficiently small amount”. Oral emetics were then administered “two or three times”. He was handcuffed when he was caused to drink the emetics. About 8:00 o’clock p. m. Guadalupe-Garza disgorged the contents of his stomach, including two balloons together containing almost 5 grams of heroin.
I turn now to the instant case. In our case Customs Inspectress Lohman testified that she asked the appellant “to please remove all of her clothing and hand them to me”. After appellant complied, Lohman found two packages of heroin “in the crotch of her under-panties”. The inspectress took possession of the narcotics and the appellant dressed.
There was no evidence that Lohman conducted even a casual examination of appellant’s skin. Contrasted with Henderson and Guadalupe-Garza, only the clothes of the appellant were examined. There was no searching investigation of the appellant’s body surface, no examination of her skin or private parts.
This case is “on all fours” with Witt v. United States, 287 F.2d 389 (C.A. 9 1961). The only difference being that after removing her clothing, the heroin was found in Witt’s brassiere while Johnson’s found in her panties. The majority makes no effort to distinguish Witt where the same type of search and, incidentally, by the same inspectress, was specifically approved by this court. It would seem to me that the majority should at least suggest that the case be heard en banc rather than attempting to overrule Witt sub silentio with a per curiam opinion.