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CA9: USPO's delivery guarantee creates no constitutional possessory interest in a package in transit

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The post office delivery guarantee does not create a constitutional possessory interest such that US Postal Inspectors could delay a package in Juneau, Alaska for a dog sniff and a search warrant to open it before delivery. United States v. Jefferson, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 11169 (9th Cir. May 26, 2009): The reasoning of LaFrance [from 1st Cir.] is convincing. We hold that an addressee has no Fourth Amendment possessory interest in a package that has a guaranteed delivery time until such delivery time has passed. Before the guaranteed delivery time, law enforcement may detain such a package for inspection purposes without any Fourth Amendment curtailment. See United States v. Gill, 280 F.3d 923, 932-33 (9th Cir. 2002) (Gould, J., concurring) ("Investigators may inspect mail as they wish without any Fourth Amendment curtailment, so long as the inspection does not amount to a 'search,' and so long as it is conducted quickly enough so that it does not become a seizure by significantly delaying the date of delivery...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on May 29, 2009 (boomark / email).