United States v. Morris Paul Leal and Morton Ritchie Leal

(dissenting):

I respectfully dissent on the sole ground that the evidence was insufficient to create the “founded suspicion” required to justify a brief, informal, investigatory detention of Morris Leal. (Wilson v. Porter (9th Cir. 1966) 361 F.2d 412, 415 ; cf. Terry v. Ohio (1968) 392 U.S. 1, 33 , 88 S.Ct. 1868 , 20 L.Ed.2d 889 .)

Viewed in the light most favorable to the Government, the police officers knew the following facts at the time the stop was made: (1) A “very young appearing” woman (Miss Correa) was seen in the company of “a possibly Oriental male” (Morris Leal) in a night club-gambling casino in Las Vegas; (2) the young woman was playing the slot machines, her handbag was open, and an officer saw that she had a stack of currency perhaps two and one half inches thick; (3) the young woman and the man were driving an automobile with an out-of-state license plate; (4) the automobile had been rented in San Francisco with a listed destination of San Antonio, Texas.

This combination of facts occurring in Las Vegas is totally unremarkable. Las Vegas is on an ordinary route to San Antonio. Las Vegas is crowded with out-of-state automobiles, many of them rented. Persons…

Morris Paul Leal and his brother, Morton Ritchie Leal, were convicted and sentenced on a charge of interstate transportation of stolen securities, 18 U.S.C. § 2314 . On appeal they make the following contentions: 1.) The stop of the car which appellant Morris Leal was driving was in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. 2.) The search of their hotel room and car, and the seizure of traveler’s checks was in violation of their Fourth Amendment rights. 3.) Appellants were not advised of their constitutional rights until after their arrest, and any statement made prior to their arrest should have been excluded at trial. 4.) Appellants were denied their right to a speedy trial as guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment. 5.) The removal of the appellants’ trial to Guam prevented them from presenting an effective defense. In reviewing the contentions, we must view the evidence in a light which is most favorable to the government. After reviewing each contention we find them to be unsupported by the record, and affirm the convictions.

I. The Stop.

Morris Leal and a Miss Leonore Correa were in the Pussy Cat A Go Go, a Las Vegas, Nevada discotheque. While there Captain Anderson óf the Clark…

460 F.2d 385 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Morris Paul LEAL and Morton Ritchie Leal, Defendants-Appellants. No. 26683. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. May 1, 1972. Bruce S. Silverman (argued), San Francisco, Cal., for defendants-appellants. Lloyd V. Anderson, Jr., Asst. U. S. Atty. (argued), Duane K. Craske, U. S. Atty., Agana, Guam, for plaintiff-appellee. Before BROWNING, CARTER and HUFSTEDLER, Circuit Judges. CARTER, Circuit Judge: 1 Morris Paul Leal and his brother, Morton Ritchie Leal, were convicted and sentenced on a charge of interstate transportation of stolen securities, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2314 . On appeal they make the following contentions: 1.) The stop of the car which appellant Morris Leal was driving was in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. 2.) The search of their hotel room and car, and the seizure of traveler's checks was in violation of their Fourth Amendment rights. 3.) Appellants were not advised of their constitutional rights until after their arrest, and any statement made prior to their arrest should have been excluded at trial. 4.) Appellants were denied their right to a speedy trial as guaranteed by the Sixth…