Cervantes v. United States, No. 15785.
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (9th Circuit) |
| Writing for the Court | BONE, POPE, and HAMLEY, Circuit |
| Citation | 263 F.2d 800 |
| Parties | Luis L. CERVANTES, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee. |
| Docket Number | No. 15785. |
| Decision Date | 21 January 1959 |
263 F.2d 800 (1959)
Luis L. CERVANTES, Appellant,
v.
UNITED STATES of America, Appellee.
No. 15785.
United States Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit.
January 21, 1959.
Willis D. Hannawalt, San Francisco, Cal., for appellant.
Luis L. Cervantes, Steilacoom, Wash., in pro. per.
Laughlin E. Waters, U. S. Atty., Peter J. Hughes, Robert John Jensen, Asst. U. S. Attys., Los Angeles, Cal., for appellee.
Before BONE, POPE, and HAMLEY, Circuit Judges.
HAMLEY, Circuit Judge.
Luis L. Cervantes appeals from his conviction on three counts of illegally importing, transporting, and concealing narcotics in violation of 21 U.S.C.A. § 174. The one question presented is whether narcotics and a hypodermic syringe, received in evidence over appellant's objection, were obtained by an illegal search and seizure.
The facts having to do with the search and seizure are not in dispute. On September 27, 1955, Kenneth Grant, a federal customs investigator, received information about a man who was said to have gone to Tijuana from Los Angeles to purchase narcotics. He was described as a short man of Mexican extraction with the given name of "Luis," the surname being unknown. The information was that "Luis" was dealing with one Manuel Vargas — a person known to Grant since 1946 as a vendor of narcotics in Tijuana. The informant further advised that the car driven by "Luis" contained a secret compartment for hiding marijuana. The informant described the car as a green Plymouth, Dodge, or Chrysler, with license number 1W47527 or 1W47537.
Grant testified that his source was one who "has informed." Neither he nor any other witness, however, indicated that the informant was personally known to him, or whether past experience demonstrated that this was a reliable source. No evidence was offered concerning the manner in which the informant obtained his information — whether by personal observation or otherwise. Nor does the record reveal where Grant was when he
Upon receiving this information on September 27, Grant notified border officials to be on the lookout for the described vehicle and occupant. No automobile with one of the indicated license numbers was observed crossing the border on that day. Grant thereafter made a check of the registration of these numbers, but found no automobile registered to a "Luis."
A month later — October 28, 1955 — Grant was contacted by the same informant and was advised that the same car was in Tijuana again. At that time the informant gave a corrected license number — 1W4752. Grant then went to Tijuana and observed a person answering the description provided by the informant driving a 1952 Chrysler with the indicated license number on First Street in that city. Grant again alerted the border inspectors for the purpose of giving this vehicle and its driver a thorough search upon entry into the United States. The record does not disclose whether the automobile and its driver were searched at the border on that day.
Grant thereafter checked the corrected license number and found that it was registered to Luis Cervantes in Los Angeles. Grant then made a check of the records in the sheriff's office of San Diego County and learned that in 1941 Cervantes had been convicted in federal court for smuggling marijuana. He also had a number of other arrests for narcotics violations.
On December 8, 1955, Grant again saw Cervantes driving his car on First Street in Tijuana. Once more Grant alerted border inspectors. He requested that the car and its occupants be searched thoroughly "as I suspected narcotics." Grant also notified the immigration authorities of his suspicions and requested that their Oceanside office be advised by radio.1 Again the record does not disclose whether Cervantes was stopped and searched at the border.
On the evening of December 8, 1955, Cervantes was stopped at San Clemente, California, while driving north in his Chrysler. He was traveling on U. S. Highway 101, which is one of the two main routes between San Diego and Los Angeles. Cervantes was stopped by Clifford J. Davis, a patrol inspector of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and also an authorized customs inspector. Davis was working out of the Oceanside office and testified that he acted on the basis of Grant's "alert" for "possible suspects." Cervantes was not stopped because of any traffic or other law violation then visible. Davis did not have a warrant for Cervantes' arrest or search.
Davis testified that Cervantes was not "arrested," but was immediately searched. A substance later identified as heroin and a hypodermic syringe were found on Cervantes' person. Thereafter Cervantes, his lady passenger, and the automobile were taken to the police station in San Clemente where a further search of the car was made. A number of marijuana seeds were discovered and a "secret" compartment was found in the car.
At the jury trial Cervantes moved to suppress this evidence. He also objected to the questions eliciting information concerning the "secret" compartment. The motion was denied and the objection was overruled, the evidence being received as part of the government's case.
Invoking the Fourth Amendment, appellant argues that this evidence was obtained by an unreasonable search and seizure and was therefore, under Weeks v. United States, 232 U.S. 383, 34 S.Ct. 341, 58 L.Ed. 652 inadmissible in this federal prosecution. The search and seizure was unreasonable, appellant contends, because the arresting officer did
The government does not deny that the Fourth Amendment applies to the seizure of narcotics.3 It appears to accept appellant's proposition that the reasonableness of a...
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Corngold v. United States, No. 19613.
...We have treated the outer limits of authority delegated by the statute as available only in border searches (Cervantes v. United States, 263 F.2d 800, 803, n. 5 (9th Cir. 1959); see e. g., King v. United States, 348 F.2d 814 (9th Cir. 1965); Denton v. United States, 310 F.2d 129, 132 (9th C......
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Hurst v. People of State of California, Civ. No. 8507.
...supra; Wong Sun v. United States, 9 Cir., 288 F.2d 366; Rodgers v. United States, 9 Cir., 267 F.2d 79; Cervantes v. United States, 9 Cir., 263 F.2d 800; Hobson v. United States, supra; Wrightson v. United States, 95 U.S.App. D.C. 390, 222 F.2d 556; Contee v. United States, 94 U.S.App.D.C. 2......
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U.S. v. Bradford, No. 05-CR-85-LRR.
...374, 6 L.Ed. 111 (1824) ("[T]he Court is bound to take notice of public facts and geographical positions."); Cervantes v. United States, 263 F.2d 800, 803 n. 5 (9th Cir.1959) ("[W]e take judicial notice of the fact that San Clemente[, California,] is more than seventy miles from the nearest......
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Blefare v. United States, No. 19825.
...ultimately found to be. Mere suspicion has been held enough cause for a search at the border. Cervantes v. United States, 9 Cir., 1959, 263 F.2d 800, 803, note 5.\'" (Emphasis original) The use of body cavities to transport narcotics has become an accepted practice by experienced smugglers.......
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Corngold v. United States, No. 19613.
...We have treated the outer limits of authority delegated by the statute as available only in border searches (Cervantes v. United States, 263 F.2d 800, 803, n. 5 (9th Cir. 1959); see e. g., King v. United States, 348 F.2d 814 (9th Cir. 1965); Denton v. United States, 310 F.2d 129, 132 (9th C......
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Hurst v. People of State of California, Civ. No. 8507.
...supra; Wong Sun v. United States, 9 Cir., 288 F.2d 366; Rodgers v. United States, 9 Cir., 267 F.2d 79; Cervantes v. United States, 9 Cir., 263 F.2d 800; Hobson v. United States, supra; Wrightson v. United States, 95 U.S.App. D.C. 390, 222 F.2d 556; Contee v. United States, 94 U.S.App.D.C. 2......
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U.S. v. Bradford, No. 05-CR-85-LRR.
...374, 6 L.Ed. 111 (1824) ("[T]he Court is bound to take notice of public facts and geographical positions."); Cervantes v. United States, 263 F.2d 800, 803 n. 5 (9th Cir.1959) ("[W]e take judicial notice of the fact that San Clemente[, California,] is more than seventy miles from the nearest......
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Outing v. State of North Carolina, 10926.
...about the commission of the crime probably did not, under the circumstances, constitute "probable cause." See Cervantes v. United States, 263 F.2d 800 (9th Cir. 1959). It perhaps is arguable whether any of the above items of information served to link Outing directly to the crime.47 Both Ho......
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Mission Impossible? Challenging Police Credibility in Suppression Motions
...can shift to the government. For example, the prosecution bears the burden to justify warrantless searches (Cervantes v. United States, 263 F.2d 800, 9th Cir. 1959; United States v. De La Fuente, 548 F.2d 528, 5th Cir. 1977; United States v. Rivera, 321 F.2d 704, 2d Cir. 1963). Unlike other......