United States v. Montoya De Hernandez

United States v. Montoya De Hernandez

Infobox SCOTUS case
Litigants = United States v. Montoya De Hernandez
ArgueDate = April 24
ArgueYear = 1985
DecideDate = July 1
DecideYear = 1985
FullName = United States v. Montoya De Hernandez
USVol = 473
USPage = 531
Citation =
Prior =
Subsequent =
Holding = The detention of a traveler at the border, beyond the scope of a routine customs search and inspection, is justified at its inception if customs agents, considering all the facts surrounding the traveler and her trip, reasonably suspect that the traveler is smuggling contraband in her alimentary canal; here, the facts, and their rational inferences, known to the customs officials clearly supported a reasonable suspicion that respondent was an alimentary canal smuggler.
SCOTUS = 1981-1986
Majority = Rehnquist
JoinMajority = Burger, White, Blackmun, Powell, O'Connor
Concurrence = Stevens
Dissent = Brennan
JoinDissent = Marshall
LawsApplied =

"United States v. Montoya De Hernandez", 473 U.S. 531 (1985), was a case appealed from the Ninth Circuit to the Supreme Court of the United States regarding balloon swallowing.

The Ninth Circuit had overturned a district court's ruling that Rosa Elvira Montoya de Hernandez, the defendant, was guilty of federal narcotics offenses. The prosecution appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Montoya de Hernandez entered the United States at Los Angeles International Airport from Bogotá, Colombia. Customs inspectors detained Montoya de Hernandez upon her arrival based upon a suspicion that she was smuggling drugs. After 16 hours she passed balloons filled with cocaine from her alimentary canal. The defendant had claimed that she was pregnant, and she was given the opportunity to undergo an X-ray, but she refused. Over the next three days, the defendant passed 88 balloons filled with over one pound of cocaine.

Montoya de Hernandez alleged that her Fourth Amendment rights were violated by an unreasonable detention. The government contended that the inspectors had reasonable suspicion that the defendant-respondent was a drug smuggler. She had a noticeable bulge in her abdomen when she was detained, and a female inspector searched her revealing that Montoya de Hernandez was wearing two sets of elastic underpants and had paper towels lining her crotch area (as balloon swallowing makes bowel movements hard to control).

The Supreme Court, in an opinion written by William Rehnquist and joined by Warren Burger, Byron White, Harry Blackmun, Lewis Powell, and Sandra Day O'Connor, reversed the Ninth Circuit's holding that defendant was subject to unreasonable search and seizure and upheld the conviction entered for charges brought by the government because custom agents were subject to a reasonable suspicion standard under the Fourth Amendment for detaining suspects.

The Supreme Court held that the detention of a traveler at the border, beyond the scope of a routine customs search and inspection, is justified at its inception if customs agents, considering all the facts surrounding the traveler and her trip, reasonably suspect that the traveler is smuggling contraband in her alimentary canal; here, the facts, and their rational inferences, known to the customs officials clearly supported a reasonable suspicion that respondent was an alimentary canal smuggler.

John Paul Stevens filed a concurring opinion while William Brennan and Thurgood Marshall dissented, stating that the detention of Montoya de Hernandez was more akin to the behavior of a police state rather than that of a free society.

ee also

*Border search exception to the Fourth Amendment Warrant Requirement.
*List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 473

External links

*caselaw source
case="United States v. Montoya De Hernandez", 473 U.S. 531 (1985)
enfacto=http://www.enfacto.com/case/U.S./473/531/
justia=http://supreme.justia.com/us/473/531/case.html


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • United States v. Flores-Montano — SCOTUSCase Litigants=United States v. Flores Montano ArgueDate=February 25 ArgueYear=2004 DecideDate=March 30 DecideYear=2004 FullName=United States of America v. Manuel Flores Montano USVol=541 USPage=149 Citation=124 S. Ct. 1582; 158 L. Ed. 2d… …   Wikipedia

  • Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution — US Constitution article seriesThe Fourth Amendment (Amendment IV) to the United States Constitution is a part of the Bill of Rights. The Fourth Amendment guards against unreasonable searches and seizures, and was designed as a response to the… …   Wikipedia

  • List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 473 — This is a list of all the United States Supreme Court cases from volume 473 of the United States Reports :* Marek v. Chesny , ussc|473|1|1985 * United States v. Shearer , ussc|473|52|1985 * NLRB v. Longshoremen , ussc|473|61|1985 * Pattern Makers …   Wikipedia

  • Hispanic Admirals in the United States Navy — can trace their tradition of naval military service to the Hispanic sailors, who have served in the Navy during every war and conflict since the American Revolution. Prior to the Civil War, the highest rank reached by a Hispanic American in the U …   Wikipedia

  • Hispanics in the United States Naval Academy — account for the largest minority group in the institution. According to the Academy, the Class of 2009 includes 271 (22.2%) minority midshipmen. Out of these 271 midshipmen, 115 are of Hispanic heritage. [cite web| url =… …   Wikipedia

  • Hispanics in the United States Navy — can trace their tradition of naval military service to the Hispanic sailors, such as Lieutenant Jorge Farragut Mesquida, who have served in the Navy in the American Revolution and have continued to serve in every major war and conflict that the… …   Wikipedia

  • Same-sex marriage legislation in the United States by state — This article summarizes the legal and political actions taken by the individual states of the United States regarding same sex marriage. The texts are following.Laws Regarding Same Sex Partnerships in the United Stateslegend|#ed1e24|Constitution… …   Wikipedia

  • Current members of the United States Congress — The 110th United States Congress consists of 540 elected officials from 50 states, four territories, and the District of Columbia. It is the federal legislature of the United States of America, continuing an unbroken chain dating back to the 1st… …   Wikipedia

  • Demographics of the 110th United States Congress — The One Hundred Tenth United States Congress was the meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, between January 3, 2007, and January 3, 2009, during the last two years of the second term of President George W. Bush …   Wikipedia

  • Benigno C. Hernández — Benigno Cárdenas Hernández (* 13. Februar 1862 in Taos, New Mexico; † 18. Oktober 1954 in Los Angeles, Kalifornien) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker. Zwischen 1915 und 1917 sowie von 1919 bis 1921 vertrat er den ersten Wahlbezirk des… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”