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CA9 en banc affirms Seljan; outgoing packages may be opened and letters inside read

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Customs had an outgoing package interdiction program at the Fed Ex Oakland overseas shipping hub looking for cash in outgoing packages, and the search here was authorized by 31 U.S.C. § 5317(b), which provides: "For purposes of ensuring compliance with the requirements of section 5316, a customs officer may stop and search, at the border and without a search warrant, any vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or other conveyance, any envelope or other container, and any person entering or departing from the United States." Id. (emphasis added); see also United States v. Gomez-Osorio, 957 F.2d 636, 643 (9th Cir.1992). The package search here revealed a letter and a sexual relationship with an 8 year old girl in the Phillipines. He challenged the reading of the letter...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on October 26, 2008 (boomark / email).