Court Opinion

ID: 9475219
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 05:20:09.969409+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:44:34.341201
License: Public Domain

SEYMOUR, Circuit Judge,
concurring.
I concur generally in the judgment in this case, and I agree with the Franks v. Delaware analysis in part II of the opinion. I write separately because I believe the initial, warrantless search of the airplane was justifiable on grounds more narrow than those relied upon by the majority in part I.
As the majority correctly holds, Officer Haran’s peering through the window of the plane and the subsequent warrantless entry are supported by both probable cause and exigent circumstances. The suspicious circumstances surrounding the plane’s flight, such as the absence of lights, the use of the Reserve Corridor, and the landing at an isolated airfield, warrant a reasonable belief that the plane contained contraband. However, I do not agree with the majority that exigent circumstances existed because of the officers’ concern for their safety. In denying the motion to suppress evidence, the district court made no finding that the officers were fearful or acted to protect their lives or well-being. The testimony of the officers that they harbored such concerns, as well as the evidence that Officer Haran stood on the wing of the plane when he first viewed its interior through the window, did not come to the attention of the district court until trial. It is not within our province as an appellate court to make fact findings. Nor is it necessary to do so to uphold the warrant-*845less entry, because exigent circumstances were inherent in the mobility of the airplane under the facts of this case. See United States v. Finefrock, 668 F.2d 1168, 1171-72 (10th Cir.1982). The exigency of the airplane, coupled with the existence of probable cause, are sufficient to support the warrantless entry without reference to safety concerns.
For these reasons, I would affirm.