United States v. Portillo-Aguirre

311 F.3d 647, 2002 U.S. App. LEXIS 22712, 2002 WL 31443141
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedNovember 1, 2002
Docket01-50476
StatusPublished
Cited by77 cases

This text of 311 F.3d 647 (United States v. Portillo-Aguirre) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Portillo-Aguirre, 311 F.3d 647, 2002 U.S. App. LEXIS 22712, 2002 WL 31443141 (5th Cir. 2002).

Opinions

DENNIS, Circuit Judge:

Reynaldo Portillo-Aguirre appeals both his conviction of possession with intent to [650]*650distribute cocaine and his sentence. He challenges the denial of his motion to suppress evidence. The issue is whether a Border Patrol agent unlawfully extended an immigration checkpoint stop of a commercial passenger bus. ' Concluding that the stop exceeded its permissible duration in violation of the Fourth Amendment, we reverse and remand for entry of a judgment of acquittal.

I. BACKGROUND

On September 20, 2000, at about 10:15 p.m., 'an Americanos passenger bus arrived at the Sierra Blanca immigration checkpoint.1 Border Patrol agents followed their usual procedure for inspecting a commercial bus: the bus was directed to a secondary inspection area; one agent opened the luggage bins located along the lower exterior of the bus, allowing a second agent with a drug-detecting dog to inspect the compartments; meanwhile, a third agent, Jade Woodruff, boarded the bus. Once aboard the bus, Agent Wood-ruff announced, in both English and Spanish, that he was performing an immigration inspection and asked non-United States citizens to have their documents ready.2 He then inspected each passenger as he made his way down the aisle to the back of the bus. Portillo-Aguirre was sitting in the fourth window seat from the front on the driver’s side of the bus. His wife, Maria Portillo-Bringas, was in the seat directly in front of him. At the suppression hearing, Agent Woodruff testified that Portillo-Aguirre seemed nervous from the moment the agents boarded the bus. Portillo-Aguirre’s documents indicated, however, that he was a resident alien, and Agent Woodruff was satisfied that his presence in the United States was lawful. So Agent Woodruff continued his inspection, which included checking the bathroom at the back of the bus for illegal alien's or narcotics.

After Agent Woodruff completed his immigration inspection, and while he was returning to the front of the bus to exit, he noticed a small carry-on bag underneath Portillo-Aguirre’s seat.. Agent Woodruff testified that he had not seen the bag earlier because Portillo-Aguirre was sitting with his legs straight down and had a pillow and a book on his lap. In other words, the bag was visible only from behind Portillo-Aguirre’s seat. Agent Wood-ruff further testified that Portillo-Aguirre appeared rigid and was looking straight ahead, which aroused Agent Woodruffs suspicion. Acting on this suspicion, he began to question Portillo-Aguirre.

The first question was whether Portillo-Aguirre had a bag on the bus. In response, Portillo-Aguirre pointed to a backpack located in the overhead bin above his seat. Agent Woodruff then asked Portil-lo-Aguirre if the bag beneath his seat belonged to him, and Portillo-Aguirre indicated that it did. Agent Woodruff next inquired about the contents of the bag, and, according to his testimony, Portillo-Aguirre began to fidget nervously and replied that the bag contained books and clothes. When Agent Woodruff asked if he could look inside the bag, Portillo-[651]*651Aguirre responded by placing the bag in the empty aisle seat next to him and opening it. Portillo-Aguirre attempted to show that the bag contained only books and clothes, but Agent Woodruff perceived that something was concealed in the bottom of the bag. Agent Woodruff therefore requested permission to search the bag himself, and Portillo-Aguirre consented. Agent Woodruff moved aside the top objects in the bag and discovered á brown tape-wrapped bundle that he recognized as being consistent with narcotics packaging. As a result of this discovery, Agent Wood-ruff arrested Portillo-Aguirre and called for Agent Barron to remove Portillo-Aguirre from the bus. When Agent Barron came aboard, Agent Woodruff informed his colleague that he had seized marijuana or cocaine. As Agent Barron was escorting him off the bus, Portillo-Aguirre turned and said, “It’s cocaine.”

After the arrest, Agent Woodruff noticed another bag under the seat in front of the one where Portillo-Aguirre had sat. Although different in color, the bag was identical in design to the one seized from Portillo-Aguirre. Agent Woodruff questioned the passengers and discovered that the bag belonged to Portillo-Aguirre’s wife. She consented to a search, and Agent Woodruff found another wrapped bundle. He then placed her under arrest and escorted her off the bus.3 According to Agent Woodruff, the entire stop lasted about ten minutes.

The district court denied Portillo-Aguirre’s and his wife’s motions to suppress the evidence obtained on the bus, holding that the seizure of the bus at the checkpoint was constitutionally permissible and that the Border Patrol has the authority to extend an immigration seizure to investigate whether illegal drugs are on board a vehicle if the agent is aware of specific articulable facts that reasonably warrant suspicion. The court found that there was reasonable suspicion to support the continued seizure of Portillo-Aguirre and his fellow passengers based on the following facts: Portillo-Aguirre was nervous; the bag under his seat could be seen only from behind; when- asked about his luggage, Portillo-Aguirre initially pointed to his backpack in the overhead compartment; and he became increasingly nervous as the questioning progressed. Finally, the court held that Portillo-Aguirre voluntarily consented to the search of his bag.

A jury convicted Portillo-Aguirre of possession with intent to distribute cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1).4 He now appeals his conviction and argues that the district court should have granted his motion to suppress.

II. ANALYSIS

A. Standard of Review

In an appeal from the denial of a motion to suppress, we review questions of law de novo and the district court’s factual [652]*652findings for clear error.5 “To the extent the underlying facts are undisputed, as they essentially are here, we may resolve questions such as probable cause and reasonable suspicion as questions of law.”6

B. Seizure of the Bus

The Fourth Amendment provides that “[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated....”7 “A search or seizure is ordinarily unreasonable in the absence of individualized suspicion of wrongdoing.”8 When law enforcement officers stop a vehicle at a highway checkpoint, a seizure within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment has occurred.9 In United States v. Martinez-Fuerte, however, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of permanent immigration checkpoints at which travelers were stopped and briefly questioned about their immigration status without individualized suspicion.10 Although not supported by reasonable suspicion, the Court considered the programmatic purpose of the stops — interdicting the flow of illegal aliens — to be sufficient justification for checkpoint seizures.11

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Bluebook (online)
311 F.3d 647, 2002 U.S. App. LEXIS 22712, 2002 WL 31443141, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-portillo-aguirre-ca5-2002.