United States v. Guadalupe Presas, Jr.

543 F.2d 552

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• Decided: December 6, 1976
• Docket: 76-1884
• Status: Published

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

In the recent case of Sifuentes v. United States, affirmed sub nom., United States v. Martinez-Fuerte, - U.S. -, 96 S.Ct. 3074, 49 L.Ed.2d 1116 (1976), the Supreme Court held that stops, as in the case at bar, for brief questioning routinely conducted at such permanent checkpoints as Sarita, Texas are consistent with the Fourth Amendment.

In this case as appellant’s automobile approached the point where the Border Patrolman was standing, the officer shined his flashlight on the front license plate and saw a marijuana brick hidden behind the grill of the car.

The sighting of the marijuana in the plain view of the officer clearly justified the seizure of the contraband and appellant’s conviction is

AFFIRMED.