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CA9: Customs search of laptop does not require individualized suspicion

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The Ninth Circuit reversed a holding of the District Court that a customs search of defendant's laptop at LAX Customs was unreasonable. A laptop is no different than luggage, and applying a higher standard to it, the same standard as a search of the person, is not justified. United States v. Arnold, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 8590 (9th Cir. April 21, 2008): Courts have long held that searches of closed containers and their contents can be conducted at the border without particularized suspicion under the Fourth Amendment. Searches of the following specific items have been upheld without particularized suspicion: (1) the contents of a traveler's briefcase and luggage, United States v. Tsai, 282 F.3d 690, 696 (9th Cir. 2002); (2) a traveler's "purse, wallet, or pockets," Henderson v...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on April 22, 2008 (boomark / email).