Court Opinion

ID: 9468225
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 02:08:27.193927+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:40:45.552267
License: Public Domain

TAMM, Circuit Judge,
dissenting in part:
The opinion for the court suggests that my learned colleagues of the majority are sensitive to theory but insensitive to reality. It is a basic responsibility of appellate courts stating the principles of constitutionally guaranteed rights to give, as precisely as possible, practical guidance both to trial courts and law enforcement officers. I feel that my colleagues of the majority, with particular reference to their ruling on the paper bag, are descending from disarray to chaos.
With this case we must decide whether law enforcement officers must obtain a search warrant before opening a closed paper bag or a closed leather pouch lawfully seized from the trunk of an automobile that the officers have probable cause to believe contains narcotics. I conclude that under the circumstances of this case, the defendant did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the contents of the paper bag once the bag was in police hands; the war-rantless search of the paper bag, therefore, was permissible. A pouch, however, is a *1172form of luggage and the police must have a warrant to search such an item. Because the conviction of the defendant in this case rested on evidence obtained from both containers, I would reverse that conviction and remand for a new trial at which items taken from the paper bag, but not from the leather pouch, may be admitted.
I
Ross’s initial argument is that the police lacked probable cause to stop and search his car.1 I disagree. Under Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U.S. 108, 84 S.Ct. 1509, 12 L.Ed.2d 723 (1964), and Spinelli v. United States, 393 U.S. 410, 89 S.Ct. 584, 21 L.Ed.2d 637 (1969), probable cause may be based on the information supplied by an informant if the informant was credible and he obtained his information in a reliable way. See United States v. Davis, 617 F.2d 677, 693 (D.C.Cir. 1979). One method of discovering an informant’s credibility, that is, his truthfulness, is to examine his “track record” in providing police with accurate information. Id. See Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U.S. at 114 n.5, 84 S.Ct. at 1514. Here, undisputed testimony indicates the officers knew that this informant had supplied accurate information on prior occasions. Moreover, there is no challenge to the method in which the informant came upon his information: he was an eyewitness to actual sales of narcotics. Under these circumstances, I believe it clear that the police had probable cause to stop Ross and to search his car.
II
Not only did the police have the necessary probable cause, but under Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132, 45 S.Ct. 280, 69 L.Ed. 543 (1925), and Chambers v. Maroney, 399 U.S. 42, 90 S.Ct. 1975, 26 L.Ed.2d 419 (1970), the officers lawfully could search Ross’s automobile, including its trunk, without a warrant. See United States v. Hawkins, 595 F.2d 751, 753 (D.C.Cir.1978) (per curiam), cert. denied, 441 U.S. 910, 99 S.Ct. 2005, 60 L.Ed.2d 380 (1979). But cf. United States v. Wilson, 636 F.2d 1161 (8th Cir. 1980) (inventory search of locked automobile trunk held unreasonable). My only concern, then, is with the permissibility of the warrantless search of the containers they found in the trunk.
The fourth amendment dictates that “normally searches of private property [must] be performed pursuant to a search warrant issued in compliance with the Warrant Clause.” Arkansas v. Sanders, 442 U.S. 753, 758, 99 S.Ct. 2586, 2590, 61 L.Ed.2d 235 (1979). A search warrant represents more than a formality or technicality. “The mere reasonableness of a search, assessed in light of the surrounding circumstances, is not a substitute for the judicial warrant required under the Fourth Amendment.” Id. See United States v. Chadwick, 433 U.S. 1, 8, 97 S.Ct. 2476, 2481, 53 L.Ed.2d 538 (1977); McDonald v. United States, 335 U.S. 451, 455-56, 69 S.Ct. 191, 193, 93 L.Ed. 153 (1948). Moreover, the Supreme Court has stated clearly and emphatically that exceptions to the warrant requirement are rare, and that the few recognized exceptions must be “jealously and carefully drawn ... . ” Jones v. United States, 357 U.S. 493, 499, 78 S.Ct. 1253, 1257, 2 L.Ed.2d 1514 (1958). See also United States v. Jeffers, 342 U.S. 48, 51, 72 S.Ct. 93, 95, 96 L.Ed. 59 (1951).
Analysis of fourth amendment protection begins with the person making claim to that protection. Fourth amendment rights are not intrinsic attributes of a container or any other object. Instead, “rights assured by the Fourth Amendment are personal rights ... [that] may be enforced by exclusion of evidence only at the instance of one whose own protection was infringed by the search and seizure.” Simmons v. United States, 390 U.S. 377, 389, 88 S.Ct. 967, 973, 19 L.Ed.2d 1247 (1968), quoted in Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128, 138, 99 S.Ct. 421, 427, 58 L.Ed.2d 387 (1978). Accord, Alderman v. United States, 394 U.S. 165, 174, 89 S.Ct. *1173961, 966, 22 L.Ed.2d 176 (1969). The defendant must establish that “the disputed search and seizure has infringed an interest of the defendant which the Fourth Amendment was designed to protect.” Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128, 140, 99 S.Ct. 421, 428, 58 L.Ed.2d 387 (1978). See id. at 130 n.l, 99 S.Ct. at 424 n.l.
To test whether the police officers’ search of either the paper bag or the leather pouch invaded interests of Ross protected by the fourth amendment, I look to the expectation-of-privacy standard first enunciated in Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 88 S.Ct. 507, 19 L.Ed.2d 576 (1967), especially Justice Harlan’s concurrence, id. at 360-62, 88 S.Ct. at 516-17. Smith v. Maryland, 442 U.S. 735, 740, 99 S.Ct. 2577, 2580, 61 L.Ed.2d 220 (1979); Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. at 143, 99 S.Ct. at 430. An interest is protected if two elements are present. First, as a subjective aspect, the defendant actually must have expected the preservation of his privacy. Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. at 361, 88 S.Ct. at 516 (Harlan, J., concurring). Thus if the accused intentionally displayed the contents of his automobile to the police, he obviously did not expect the contents to remain hidden from police view. See id. at 351, 88 S.Ct. at 511 (majority opinion). Second, as an objective aspect, the defendant’s expectation must be one that society is prepared to recognize as reasonable. That is, the defendant must have relied justifiably on a freedom from governmental intrusion. Id. at 361, 88 S.Ct. at 516 (Harlan, J., concurring).
In most cases, the extent of expectation that is reasonable will depend upon the circumstances at the time of the search. The Supreme Court has taken several factors into account: the precautions taken to preserve privacy, the manner in which the person claiming fourth amendment protection has used the place or item searched, the treatment accorded that place or item at the time the Framers adopted the fourth amendment, and finally, the applicable property rights. See Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. at 152-53, 99 S.Ct. 421, 435, 58 L.Ed.2d 387 (Powell, J., concurring) (summarizing earlier cases). For example, a lower expectation may be justified when the defendant no longer possesses the searched item. Both the majority and the dissent in Rakas acknowledged that “perhaps the Constitution provides some degree less protection for the personal freedom from unreasonable governmental intrusion when one does not have a possessory interest in the invaded private place.” Id. at 166, 99 S.Ct. at 442 (White, J., dissenting), quoted with approval in id. at 146-47, 99 S.Ct. at 432 (majority opinion). Similarly, the Supreme Court has held in automobile cases that the characteristics of cars, the manner of their use, and the degree of their regulation dilute the justifiable expectation of privacy. See Chambers v. Maroney, 399 U.S. 42, 90 S.Ct. 1975, 26 L.Ed.2d 419 (1970); Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132, 45 S.Ct. 280, 69 L.Ed. 543 (1925). Accord, Arkansas v. Sanders, 442 U.S. 753, 761, 99 S.Ct. 2586, 2591, 61 L.Ed.2d 235 (1979).
In this case, however, we are not dealing with the search of a car but with the search of two containers. Our inquiry must focus on the reasonable expectation of privacy Ross had in the paper bag and the leather pouch. The contents of some containers, those the Supreme Court refers to as “common repositories] for personal effects,” are entitled to an expectation of privacy regardless of their location or the right to possess them. Arkansas v. Sanders, 442 U.S. 753, 763-66, 99 S.Ct. 2586, 2593-94, 61 L.Ed.2d 235 (1979). Luggage, such as a footlocker or a suitcase, “is inevitably associated with the expectation of privacy.” Id. at 762, 99 S.Ct. at 2594 (emphasis added). Because society recognizes luggage as a personal sanctuary, its presence within a car or its having, fallen lawfully into public hands does not alter the reasonableness of an expectation that it will not be opened by the police. Id.; Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128, 154 n.2, 99 S.Ct. 421, 436 n.2, 58 L.Ed.2d 387 (1978) (Powell, J., concurring). Professor Wayne LaFave has observed that “p]n Chadwick, the Court was able to say that the ‘substantial infringement with respondents’ use and possession’ of the footlocker, justified by exigent circumstances, *1174‘did not diminish respondents’ legitimate expectation that the footlocker’s contents would remain private.’ ” 2 W. LaFave, Search and Seizure § 5.5, at 365 (1978) (quoting United States v. Chadwick, 433 U.S. 1, 13 n.8, 97 S.Ct. 2476, 2485 n.8, 53 L.Ed.2d 538 (1977)). Accord, id. § 5.5 (Supp.1980) (analysis unaffected by Sanders ). Cf. Pennsylvania v. Mimms, 434 U.S. 106, 98 S.Ct. 330, 54 L.Ed.2d 331 (1977) (per curiam) (Court examines the legality of ordering the driver of a stopped vehicle out of his car by looking to the incremental invasion of privacy, given the stop).
The same circumstances that justified the search of Ross’s automobile also justify a warrantless seizure of the paper bag and leather pouch, thereby depriving Ross of some of his possessory rights, at least temporarily. Our focus shifts to whether Ross reasonably could expect that after the bag and pouch were seized by the police, these containers nevertheless would remain unopened. In differentiating fourth amendment treatment of containers, parcels, and packages from that of personal luggage, the Sanders Court stated that although the need for a warrant to search nonluggage does not depend “upon whether they are seized from an automobile,”2 not all container types “deserve the full protection of the Fourth Amendment.” Arkansas v. Sanders, 442 U.S. 753, 764 n.13, 99 S.Ct. 2586, 2593 n.13, 61 L.Ed.2d 235 (1979). The Court left us without detailed guidance concerning just what nonluggage containers require a warrant before being searched. We must therefore determine whether a paper bag or a leather pouch may be searched immediately after their proper seizure, or if, like luggage, they may only be impounded until the police officers can obtain a warrant to search them. See id. at 772, 99 S.Ct. at 2597 (Blackmun, J., dissenting).
Ill
I believe that absent unusual circumstances not present here, the fourth amendment does not forbid the police from opening a paper bag once it is properly in their hands. After analyzing the privacy expectation in a paper bag lawfully seized by police, I conclude that the fourth amendment does not protect any privacy interest in a closed but unsealed paper bag over and above the privacy justified by virtue of possession and control.
In traveling to this conclusion, I am fortunate that a portion of my path has been illuminated by the federal and the state courts that have already dealt with related situations. In general, invalidation of war-rantless searches has been confined to the types of containers normally associated with personal luggage: a suitcase, a briefcase, a purse, a duffle bag, a backpack, a gym bag, a vinyl satchel, or a guitar case.3 *1175On the other hand, courts generally have found warrantless searches permissible when confronted with containers dissimilar to luggage: an integral part of an automobile, an open knapsack, a taped electric razor case, a toolbox, a closed but unsealed department store box, or a closed but unsealed envelope.4
*1176Several courts have looked at paper bags in particular, and have concluded a search is permissible after their seizure. In United States v. Mackey, 626 F.2d 684 (9th Cir. 1980), police discovered a paper bag beneath the front seat of an automobile on the passenger’s side. Finding no reason to distinguish between the clearly justified seizure of the bag and the search of its contents, the court held that the defendant did not possess a sufficient privacy interest in the paper bag to justify imposing the warrant requirement of Chadwick and Sanders. In United States v. Goshorn, 628 F.2d 697 (1st Cir. 1980), police discovered two plastic bags inside three brown paper bags which were further inside two other plastic bags, all within the locked trunk of an automobile. The court held that the facts of record failed to establish that the defendant possessed a reasonable expectation of privacy in the bags found within the automobile trunk. The Second Circuit held that a war-rantless search of a folded-over brown paper bag inside a folded-shut plastic bag located on the front seat of an automobile would not violate the fourth amendment. United States v. Mannino, 635 F.2d 110 (2d Cir. 1980). Furthermore, the Seventh Circuit held that a defendant had no reasonable expectation of privacy in a brown paper bag located within a locked automobile trunk. United States v. Jimenez, 626 F.2d 39 (7th Cir. 1980). In United States v. Brown, 635 F.2d 1207 (6th Cir. 1980), the Sixth Circuit upheld the warrantless search of a closed paper bag found in an automobile trunk. In yet a sixth ruling by a federal appellate court on this point, the Fifth Circuit upheld the warrantless search of a paper sack located on the front floorboard of an automobile. United States v. Sutton, 636 F.2d 96 (5th Cir. 1981).
In United States v. Andrews, No. 79 Cr. 374 (MJL) (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 2, 1979), an undercover agent had seen a brown paper bag and a vial of clear liquid, taken from the bag, which had been identified as the “juice.” Later, after surveillance, police arrested the driver of a car. While searching the car’s trunk, the arresting officer observed a brown paper bag. Searching the paper bag, the officer found the vial previously shown to the undercover agent. Although citing Arkansas v. Sanders, the court denied a motion to suppress without discussing the warrantless search of the bag. In Clark v. State, 574 P.2d 1261 (Alaska 1978), a search of defendant’s rental car uncovered a paper bag in the glove compartment. Still without a warrant, the police officer opened the bag and discovered it contained narcotics. Affirming Clark’s conviction, the Alaska Supreme Court compared this case with Chadwick and concluded that the expectation of privacy was much lower in a paper bag’s contents than in a footlocker’s. Reaching the same conclusion, the court in Webb v. State, 373 So.2d 400 (Fla.App.1979), noted that there are
arguable differences between the reasonable expectation of privacy one might attach to a paper bag as opposed to a briefcase or luggage of some type. Whereas “luggage is a common repository for one’s personal effects, and therefore is inevitably associated with the expectation of privacy,” Arkansas v. Sanders, supra, the same does not hold true to paper bags.
Id. at 403. Courts have also found the contents of opaque plastic bags, containers comparable to paper bags, to be entitled to *1177a lesser expectation of privacy than personal luggage. See, e. g., United States v. Mannino, 635 F.2d 110 (2d Cir. 1980); United States v. Ficklin, 570 F.2d 352 (9th Cir. 1978) (memorandum), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 825, 99 S.Ct. 95, 58 L.Ed.2d 118 (1978), quoted in United States v. Stevie, 582 F.2d 1175, 1179 n.4 (8th Cir. 1978), cert. denied, 443 U.S. 911, 99 S.Ct. 3102, 61 L.Ed.2d 876 (1979); State v. Duers, 49 N.C.App. 282, 271 S.E.2d 118 (1980); Flynn v. State, 374 So.2d 1041 (Fla.App.1979) (contrasting Sanders).
Recitation of precedent does not by itself determine whether Ross continued to have a reasonable expectation of privacy after his paper bag was lawfully seized by police. I must also rely on my own analysis of when a legitimate expectation of privacy attaches to a given container, so that absent exigent circumstances, a search requires a warrant. As the Supreme Court declared in Rakas v. Illinois, “it would, of course, be merely tautological to fall back on the notion that those expectations of privacy which are legitimate depend primarily on cases deciding exclusionary rule issues in criminal cases.” 439 U.S. at 143 n.12, 99 S.Ct. at 430 n.12. Instead, “[ljegitimation of expectation of privacy by law must have a source outside of the Fourth Amendment, either by reference to concepts of real or personal property law or to understandings that are recognized and permitted by society.” Id. See Smith v. Maryland, 442 U.S. 735, 99 S.Ct. 2577, 61 L.Ed.2d 220 (1979) (society not prepared to recognize expectation of privacy in identity of telephone numbers called from another telephone). I therefore must decide what “sense of security” should exist in society, and I must do so at least in part by looking at “the customs and values of the past and present....” United States v. White, 401 U.S. 745, 786, 91 S.Ct. 1122, 1143, 28 L.Ed.2d 453 (1971) (Harlan, J., dissenting), quoted in 1 W. La-Fave, Search and Seizure § 2.1, at 231 (1978). Other important considerations include the precautions taken to preserve privacy, the manner in which the paper bag was used, and the property rights in the bag at the time of the search. See pages 4-5 supra. See also Note, From Private Places to Personal Privacy: A Post-Katz Study of Fourth Amendment Protection, 43 N.Y.U.L.Rev. 968, 983-84 (1968) (“The degree of privacy offered by structural characteristics, such as partitions or walls, is an important determinant of an area’s character.”).
If a paper bag were a form of luggage, my task would be a simple one: Sanders requires a warrant before searching any piece of luggage. Paper bags differ from personal luggage in two material respects, however. First, paper bags offer at best only minimal protection against accidental and deliberate intrusions. A paper bag can fall open or break very easily. It presents no real obstacles to invasions by the curious or the dishonest once it has left its owner’s actual possession. Because it is neither so secure nor so permanent as typical forms of luggage, its contents are much more likely to become subject to public display than if the same items had been stored in luggage. Thus, it is doubtful that one realistically can expect a paper bag to remain closed or intact, its contents unrevealed, at least if it has left its owner’s hands. See United States v. Mackey, 626 F.2d 684, 687 (9th Cir. 1980). Cf. United States v. Neumann, 585 F.2d 355 (8th Cir. 1978) (cardboard boxes not secure; inventory search justified).
Second, paper bags are not inevitably associated with the expectation of privacy. See Arkansas v. Sanders, 442 U.S. 752, 762, 99 S.Ct. 2586, 2592, 61 L.Ed.2d 235 (1979). Although a paper bag may be pressed into service as a repository of personal effects, I do not believe a reasonable man would identify a paper bag as a normal place to entrust his intimate personal possessions. In contrast, luggage in general serves to carry clothes, toiletries, and other items associated with day-to-day living. Luggage typically functions as a portable closet and chest of drawers; it follows that a person could justifiably maintain a substantially *1178higher expectation of privacy in his personal luggage than in a paper bag.5
We therefore must decide whether, under the circumstances of this case, Ross had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the paper bag that the police discovered during the lawful search of the trunk of his car. The officers had reason to believe that the trunk was the warehouse for Ross’s narcotics sales. Thus it was serving as more than simply a luggage compartment. When the police in searching the trunk came upon a paper bag, there was no indication that it was being used to carry intimate, private items. See United States v. Dien, 609 F.2d 1038 (2d Cir. 1979), adhered to on rehearing, 615 F.2d 10 (2d Cir. 1980). See generally United States ex rel. Cunningham v. Follette, 397 F.2d 143, 145 (2d Cir. 1968), cert. denied, 393 U.S. 1058, 89 S.Ct. 699, 21 L.Ed.2d 699 (1969); Walker v. United States, 327 F.2d 597, 600 (D.C.Cir.1963), cert. denied, 377 U.S. 956, 84 S.Ct. 1635, 12 L.Ed.2d 500 (1964); Liichow v. State, 288 Md. 502, 419 A.2d 1041 (Md.1980).6 No one disputes that the police had the right to seize the bag to prevent the destruction of its contents, that is, the destruction of possible evidence. See Arkansas v. Sanders, 442 U.S. at 762, 99 S.Ct. 2586, 61 L.Ed.2d 235; United States v. Chadwick, 433 U.S. 1, 13, 97 S.Ct. 2476, 2484, 53 L.Ed.2d 538 (1978). Because a paper bag’s general vulnerability suggests no reasonable expectation of privacy after its seizure, see page 1177 supra, and because the police justifiably believed that this paper bag was not being used to store personal items, the police lawfully could open it without violating Ross’s fourth amendment rights.
In the final analysis, my determination of what “sense of security” should exist in society must be based upon general experience and judgment. The facts in this case lead me to conclude that Ross could not reasonably harbor an expectation of privacy in his paper bag beyond that existing due to actual possession, which is all that enables one to protect a paper bag’s contents from public exposure. If, as the Sanders decision suggests, there are containers that the police, after a proper seizure,7 may open without a search warrant, Ross’s bag must be among the best examples. Thus I agree with Professor LaFave that compared to the warrantless search of luggage, “when
*1179the [searched] effects are such things as coats and paper bags, the possessory interest and privacy interest are much less distinct, and it is thus far easier to conclude that the [privacy] interest is not protected by the Warrant Clause whenever exigent circumstances allow a warrantless intrusion upon the [possessory] interest.” 2 W. La-Fave, Search and Seizure § 5.5, at 365 (1978). Accord, id. § 5.5 (Supp.1980) (analysis unaffected by Sanders).
IV
With respect to Ross’s red leather pouch, Sanders controls directly. See pages 1173, 1177 supra. As a type of personal luggage, the pouch, in the words of Sanders itself, is a “common repository for one’s personal effects, and therefore is inevitably associated with the expectation of privacy.” Arkansas v. Sanders, 442 U.S. 753, 762, 99 S.Ct. 2586, 2592, 61 L.Ed.2d 235 (1979). Absent a valid warrant or one of the few recognized exceptions, any evidence secured from the leather pouch should be excluded when determining Ross’s criminal culpability-
The Government attempts to bring the warrantless search of the leather pouch within the exception for searches incident to a lawful arrest. The attempt fails. Ross does not challenge a police search of his person or of any object associated with his person at the time of his arrest. See United States v. Robinson, 414 U.S. 218, 94 S.Ct. 467, 38 L.Ed.2d 427 (1973). When Detective Cassidy seized the pouch and later opened it at police headquarters, it was far from Ross’s reach and in the exclusive control of the police. There was no danger Ross might gain access to the pouch and retrieve a weapon or destroy evidence. The police officers had no reason to believe that the pouch contained explosives or any other item that might prove hazardous to themselves or to the public. Ross’s arrest cannot excuse a search made a substantial time later and a substantial distance away. Preston v. United States, 376 U.S. 364, 367, 84 S.Ct. 881, 883, 11 L.Ed.2d 777 (1964). See generally United States v. Chadwick, 433 U.S. 1, 15, 97 S.Ct. 2476, 2485, 53 L.Ed.2d 538 (1977); Ghimel v. California, 395 U.S. 752, 763-64, 89 S.Ct. 2034, 2040, 23 L.Ed.2d 685 (1969).
I agree with the majority that none of the “specifically established and well-delineated exceptions,” Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 357, 88 S.Ct. 507, 514, 19 L.Ed.2d 576 (1967), to the warrant requirement applied and that the police failed to follow “ ‘the procedure of antecedent justification before a magistrate that is central to the Fourth Amendment ....’” Osborn v. United States, 385 U.S. 323, 330, 87 S.Ct. 429, 433, 17 L.Ed.2d 394 (1966) (quoting Ohio ex rel. Eaton v. Price, 364 U.S. 263, 272, 80 S.Ct. 1463, 1468, 4 L.Ed.2d 1708 (1960) (opinion of Brennan, J.) (equally divided Court)). The currency found in the red leather pouch should have been suppressed as evidence.8
V
Although it is certainly noteworthy that every court confronted with the warrantless search of a paper bag, save for this court today, has upheld the search, see pages 1176 and note 4 supra, my analysis of searches based on the container involved should not be construed as offering any per se rules. Rather, as this court recently stated, each encounter between law enforcement officers and citizens “is unique, involving the weighing and measuring of contrary indicators.” United States v. White, 648 F.2d 29, at 34 (D.C.Cir.1981). We must continue to examine the totality of the circumstances in each case. As I interpret current Supreme Court precedent, our duty is to search for objective indicia signalling an expectation of privacy that society is prepared to accept as reasonable. *1180United States v. Markland, 635 F.2d 174 (2d Cir. 1980); United States v. Mannino, 635 F.2d 110 (2d Cir. 1980).
Because Ross’s conviction rested in part on evidence that the police obtained through an unlawful search, I would reverse the conviction and remand the case for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.

. The majority opinion accurately sets out the relevant facts of this case. See majority op. at 1161 1162.

. Consequently, the police may not capitalize on a container’s momentary presence in a vehicle as a pretext for searching the container without a warrant. In Chadwick, the Court disallowed the opening of a footlocker that the police had not attempted to search, although they had probable cause to do so, until the defendant stowed the footlocker in the trunk of a car. In Sanders, the police had probable cause to search Sanders’ suitcase before it was placed in the taxicab trunk, see Arkansas v. Sanders, 442 U.S. 753, 766, 99 S.Ct. 2586, 2594, 61 L.Ed.2d 235 (1979) (Burger, C. J., concurring in the judgment), but the police chose to wait. Nevertheless, although storing a container in a car does not suddenly strip the owner of his legitimate expectation of privacy in the container’s contents, the presence of a container in an automobile may allow the police to discover and take possession of the container without a search warrant.

. (1) Suitcase: United States v. Montano, 613 F.2d 147 (6th Cir. 1980) (per curiam); United States v. MacKay, 606 F.2d 264 (9th Cir. 1979); State v. Crutchfield, 123 Ariz. 570, 601 P.2d 333 (Ariz.App.1979); Haughland v. State, 374 So.2d 1026 (Fla.App. 1979); Buday v. State, 150 Ga.App. 686, 258 S.E.2d 318 (1979); State v. Gauidin, 44 N.C.App. 19, 259 S.E.2d 779 (1979); West Virginia v. Tomey, 259 S.E.2d 16 (W.Va. 1979). Cf. United States v. Kralik, 611 F.2d 343 (10th Cir. 1979) (warrant to search car), cert. denied, 445 U.S. 953, 100 S.Ct. 1603, 63 L.Ed.2d 788 (1980); State v. DeRusha, 74 Ill. App.3d 641, 30 Ill.Dec. 583, 393 N.E.2d 619 (1979) (search permitted due to exigent circumstances); People v. Plantefaber, 91 Mich.App. 764, 283 N.W.2d 846 (1979) (exigent circumstances).
(2) Briefcase: United States v. Presier, 610 F.2d 1206 (4th Cir. 1979); Moran v. Morris, 478 F.Supp. 145 (C.D.Cal.1979) (dictum); In re *1175B.K.C., 413 A.2d 894 (D.C.1980); Webb v. State, 373 So.2d 400 (FIa.App.1979); Araj v. State, 592 S.W.2d 603 (Tex.Cr.App.1979). Cf. United States v. White, 607 F.2d 203 (7th Cir. 1979) (exigent circumstances); United States v. Calaendrella, 605 F.2d 236 (6th Cir.) (Chadwick not applied retroactively), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 991, 100 S.Ct. 522, 62 L.Ed.2d 420 (1979); United States v. Garcia, 605 F.2d 349 (7th Cir. 1979) (search incident to arrest), cert. denied, 446 U.S. 984, 100 S.Ct. 2966, 64 L.Ed.2d 841 (1980); State v. Daniel, 589 P.2d 408 (Alaska 1979) (inventory search, decision based on Alaska constitution).
(3) Portfolio: United States v. Miller, 608 F.2d 1089 (5th Cir. 1979), cert. denied, 447 U.S. 926, 100 S.Ct. 3020, 65 L.Ed.2d 1119 (1980).
(4) Purse: Ulesky v. State, 379 So.2d 121 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1979).
(5) Wallet: Cf. State v. Hlady, 43 Or.App.921, 607 P.2d 733 (1979) (search permitted as being incident to arrest).
(6) Duffle bag: United States v. Johnson, 588 F.2d 147 (5th Cir. 1979).
(7) Backpack: United States v. Meier, 602 F.2d 253 (10th Cir. 1979).
(8) Gym bag: State v. Marcum, 24 Wash. App. 441, 601 P.2d 975 (1979). Cf. State v. Hassapelis, 404 A.2d 232 (Me. 1979) (harmless error).
(9) Tote bag: United States v. Benson, 631 F.2d 1336 (8th Cir. 1980); People v. Minjares, 24 Cal.3d 410, 591 P.2d 514, 153 Cal.Rptr. 224, cert. denied, 444 U.S. 887, 100 S.Ct. 181, 62 L.Ed.2d 117 (1979).
(10) Travel bag: People v. Little, 598 P.2d 140 (Colo. 1979) (en banc).
(11) Guitar case: United States v. Bella, 605 F.2d 160 (5th Cir. 1979) (per curiam).
(12) Camera case: State v. DeLong, 43 Or. App. 183, 602 P.2d 665 (1979) (decided under combination of Sanders and Oregon precedent).
But see State v. Dalton, 24 Cal.3d 850, 598 P.2d 467,157 Cal.Rptr. 497 (1979) (closed metal box), cert. denied, 445 U.S. 946, 100 S.Ct. 1345, 63 L.Ed.2d 781 (1980).
Although in United States v. Dien, 609 F.2d 1038 (2d Cir. 1979), adhered to on rehearing, 615 F.2d 10 (2d Cir. 1980), the court held that a warrant was necessary to search three large cardboard boxes, the court predicated its conclusion on its findings that the use of plastic tape to seal the boxes and the secreting of the boxes behind covered windows “manifested an expectation that the contents would remain free from public examination.” Id. at 1045. Accord, United States v. Rivera, 486 F.Supp. 1025 (N.D.Tex.1980) (sealed polyethylene bags); State v. White, 615 P.2d 1004 (N.M.App. 1980) (closed, partially sealed boxes and bags); People v. Spencer, 74 A.D.2d 77, 426 N.Y.S.2d 605 (App.Div.1980) (sealed cardboard carton). See United States v. Mannino, 487 F.Supp. 508 (S.D.N.Y.) (no reasonable expectation of privacy in unsealed cardboard boxes), aff'd, 635 F.2d 110 (2d Cir. 1980). But see People v. Robbins, 103 Cal.App.3d 34, 162 Cal.Rptr. 780 (no reasonable expectation of privacy in taped, plastic-wrapped package), cert. granted, 449 U.S. 1109, 101 S.Ct. 916, 66 L.Ed.2d 838 (1981).

. (1) Integral part of the automobile: United States v. Dall, 608 F.2d 910 (1st Cir. 1979) (camper cap), cert. denied, 445 U.S. 918, 100 S.Ct. 1280, 63 L.Ed.2d 603 (1980); cf. United States v. Ramapuram, 632 F.2d 1149 (4th Cir. 1980) (junked car).
(2) Unlatched knapsack: State v. Schrier, 283 N.W.2d 338 (Iowa 1979).
(3) Closed satchel: United States v. Milhollan, 599 F.2d 518 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 909, 100 S.Ct. 221, 62 L.Ed.2d 144 (1979) (three Justices would have granted the writ and reversed under Sanders).
(4) Taped electric razor case: Cooper v. Commonwealth, 577 S.W.2d 34 (Ky.App.1979).
(5) Closed but unlocked toolbox: Wyss v. State, 262 Ark. 502, 558 S.W.2d 141 (1977).
(6) Closed but unsealed department store box: United States v. Neumann, 585 F.2d 355 (8th Cir. 1978) (inventory search permitted because boxes cannot be closed securely).
(7) Cigar box: In the Matter of Isaiah Home, 50 N.C.App. 97, 272 S.E.2d 905 (1980).
(8) Envelopes: United States v. Sanders, 631 F.2d 1309 (8th Cir. 1980); United States v. Duckett, 583 F.2d 1309 (5th Cir. 1978).
(9) Burlap bag: State v. Casillas, 393 So.2d 694 (La.1981); Burkett v. State, 607 S.W.2d 399 (Ark. 1980) (dictum).
(10) Plastic bags: United States v. Mannino, 635 F.2d 110 (2d Cir. 1980) (plastic and paper bags); United States v. Gooch, 603 F.2d 122 (10th Cir. 1979); United States v. Ficklin, 570 F.2d 352 (9th Cir. 1978) (memorandum) (plastic and burlap bags), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 825, 99 S.Ct. 95, 58 L.Ed.2d 118 (1978), quoted in United States v. Stevie, 582 F.2d 1175, 1179 n.4 (8th Cir. 1978), cert. denied, 443 U.S. 911, 99 S.Ct. 3102, 61 L.Ed.2d 876 (1979); State v. Duers, 49 N.C.App. 282, 271 S.E.2d 81 (1980); State v. Januszewski,-Conn.-, 42 C.L.J. 8 (Conn. Aug. 19, 1980) (garbage bag in automobile); Flynn v. State, 374 So.2d 1041 (Fla.App.1979). But see Liichow v. State, 419 A.2d 1041 (Md.1980) (manner and circumstances of defendant’s possession of personal belongings in plastic bag demonstrated a reasonable expection of privacy).
*1176(11) Paper bags: United States v. Sutton, 636 F.2d 96 (5th Cir. 1981); United States v. Brown, 635 F.2d 1207 (6th Cir. 1980); United States v. Honigman, 633 F.2d 1336 (9th Cir. 1980) (paper bag inside grocery bag); United States v. Mackey, 626 F.2d 684 (9th Cir. 1980); United States v. Jimenez, 626 F.2d 39 (7th Cir. 1980); United States v. Goshorn, 628 F.2d 697 (1st Cir. 1980); United States v. Vento, 533 F.2d 838 (3d Cir. 1976); United States v. Andrews, No. 79 Cr. 374 (MJL) (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 2,
1979) (approved without discussion although Sanders cited elsewhere in opinion); People v. Fick, 107 Cal.App.3d 892, 166 Cal.Rptr. 106 (1980); State v. Cavegn, 294 N.W.2d 717 (Minn. 1980); Clark v. State, 574 P.2d 1261 (Alaska 1978); Webb v. State, 373 So.2d 400 (Fla.App.1979) (dictum). See United States v. Portillo, 633 F.2d 1313 (9th Cir. 1980) (touch of paper bag located in automobile trunk revealed presence of handgun).

. I would not create a rule that only luggage is protected by the fourth amendment. Because society always associates luggage with privacy, the fourth amendment must always protect it. This is not an intrinsic characteristic of the luggage but a legal application of society’s manifested expectations — an extrinsic quality, so to speak. Because a paper bag is not a piece of luggage, however, I must undertake the more general inquiry of whether under the facts before us this particular container suggests an expectation of privacy. After examining those facts, I have concluded that Ross’s paper bag did not connote such an expectation of privacy. Therefore, there was no privacy interest for the fourth amendment to protect.

. There was no evidence that Ross employed the paper bag as a substitute for luggage, nor do the facts and circumstances manifest any special expectation of privacy. If, for example, the police had found the paper bag amidst suitcases or other luggage, there would have been a stronger indication that the bag was pressed into service as a repository of personal effects. Similarly, if Ross had sealed the paper bag shut, manifesting a special expectation of privacy, the intrusion of a search would have been more than negligible and a search warrant might well have been required. In any situation approaching a borderline case, the police would best be cautious, and obtain a proper search warrant before proceeding.
I read the Supreme Court’s decisions interpreting the fourth amendment to state that objective evidence of an expectation of privacy is one factor to be considered in determining whether an asserted privacy interest should be protected. This note attempts to give law enforcement officials some guidance as to the treatment of certain objective evidence with which they are likely to be confronted. The majority opinion appears more interested in mocking the problems resulting from this necessary “line-drawing process,” Arkansas v. Sanders, 442 U.S. at 757, 99 S.Ct. 2586, 61 L.Ed.2d 235, than in offering any instruction or guidance.

. The majority opinion’s irrelevant reference to those who carry their belongings in shopping bags, majority op. at 1184-1185 n.30, misapprehends this basic analytical point. Only after a valid seizure of the container, pursuant to a warrant or within a well-delineated exception to the warrant requirement, must the legality of a search be addressed.

. The Government’s counsel conceded at oral argument that the $3,200 in currency found in the pouch was essential to the Government’s charge of narcotics possession with intent to distribute, the only crime Ross was convicted of having committed. We are thus unable to excuse introduction of the evidence as harmless error. See, e. g., United States v. James, 473 F.2d 115 (D.C.Cir.1972).