Date decided May 27, 2004 | ||
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Full case name United States of America v. Alfonso Camacho Judge(s) sitting Raymond C. Fisher, Jay Bybee, and James C. Mahan Ruling court United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Similar Katz v United States, United States v Lopez, United States v Jones | ||
United States v Camacho, 368 F3d 1182 was a 2004 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals case regarding the use of radioactive scanning equipment to perform customs searches along the United States Mexico Border.
Contents
Background
Alfonso Camacho was a United States citizen attempting to drive across the United States – Mexico Border who was stopped by Customs inspectors. One of the inspectors noticed that Camacho's spare tire felt hard to the touch, and grew suspicious that something was contained inside the tire. Another inspector then used a radioactive density measurer called a Buster to determine that the tire was in fact significantly more dense than would be expected. The inspectors subsequently removed the tire and thoroughly searched Camacho's SUV and found almost 108 pounds of marijuana.
Decision
Camacho argued that the search of his vehicle was potentially detrimental to his health, and therefore defined as unreasonable and therefore prevented by the Fourth Amendment. However, the court ruled that the search was not destructive, as it posed no danger to the vehicle and could not harm the occupant. Furthermore, the court noted that the Fourth Amendment only protected against intrusive searches of the person, but not the vehicle, at the border. Thus, even though the use of the Buster constituted an instrusive search, it was reasonable because it was not directed at Camacho himself, but rather towards his vehicle