United States v. Rachel Munoz, United States of America v. Laura Theresa Ortiz

604 F.2d 1160, 1979 U.S. App. LEXIS 14404

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Decided: May 29, 1979
• Docket: 78-3230, 78-3231
• Status: Published

Opinions

KENNEDY, Circuit Judge.

The facts relied upon to support the stop of the Ortiz vehicle do not, in our view, constitute grounds for a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. It is an innocuous circumstance that two vehicles are traveling in tandem on a hot summer day, one with a child in the front between two adults in bucket seats. That the drivers appear to be of Mexican or Latin extraction is a factor of slight importance. The failure of the occupants to look at the agents adds little to the case in light of the questionable value of the factor generally, see United States v. Mallides, 473 F.2d 859, 861 (9th Cir. 1973), the reliance in other cases on the fact that the suspect did look at the agent, see United States v. Pulido-Santoyo, 580 F.2d 352, 354 (9th Cir. 1978), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 915, 99 S.Ct. 289, 58 L.Ed.2d 263 (1978), and the testimony of the agent that he considered it suspicious that Ortiz did watch him in the rear view mirror.

Once the Ortiz vehicle was stopped, illegal aliens were immediately observed and the Munoz vehicle was stopped thereafter. Munoz has no standing to challenge the stopping of the Ortiz vehicle. Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128, 99 S.Ct. 421, 58 L.Ed.2d 387 (1978). Once the Ortiz vehicle was stopped and the aliens sighted, there was clearly suspicion to stop the Munoz vehicle, given the fair inference that they were traveling in tandem.

The conviction of Laura Ortiz is REVERSED; the conviction of Rachel Munoz is AFFIRMED.