United States v. Rosemary Ruiz

MEMORANDUM

Rosemary Ruiz appeals the district court’s denial of her motion to suppress, after which she pleaded guilty to and was convicted of violating 21 U.S.C. §§ 952 , 960 for her importation of methamphetamine. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . Reviewing the district court’s denial of Ms. Ruiz’s motion to suppress de novo and its factual determinations for clear error, United States v. Fowlkes, 770 F.3d 748, 756 (9th Cir.2014), we affirm.

To conduct a pat-down search at the border, “minimal suspicion” is required. United States v. Vance, 62 F.3d 1152, 1156 (9th Cir.1995). Such suspicion was present here. The Customs and Border Protection Officer (CBPO) who saw Ms. Ruiz when she was diverted to secondary inspection ran a background check on her at the request of the officer who diverted her. He found that Ms. Ruiz had a record of arrests for drug possession and other crimes, as well as a conviction for bringing a controlled substance into a prison. The secondary officer’s knowledge that another officer had enough concern to request the running of a criminal history check, combined with the nature of Ms. Ruiz’s prior arrests and convictions, and the fact that Ms.…