United States v. Lorna Jean Laird

Laird appeals from her conviction for possessing marijuana with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a)(1). The single issue raised on this appeal is whether her motion to suppress was properly denied. We affirm.

Laird’s vehicle was stopped by Customs and Border Patrol officers after it had apparently tripped a sensor device on a narrow road near the Mexican border. A short dirt extension from the road led to a large hole in the border fence. The signal from the sensor while Laird’s vehicle was near the border by itself could give rise to founded suspicion sufficient for a stop. United States v. Mora-Chavez, 496 F.2d 1181, 1182 (9th Cir. 1974). Here there was much more.

Once legally stopped, additional articulable facts may develop for the founded suspicion to grow into probable cause. United States v. Bugarin-Casas, 484 F.2d 853, 854 (9th Cir. 1973), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1136 , 94 S.Ct. 881 , 38 L.Ed.2d 762 (1974). In this case, the odor of marijuana emanating from the trunk of Laird’s vehicle provided the requisite probable cause for a search. Fernandez v. United States, 321 F.2d 283, 286-87 (9th Cir. 1963).

Laird contends, however, that the…