United States v. Kenneth Malcolm Cameron

Appellant Kenneth Cameron was tried by the district court on stipulated facts and found guilty of importing a controlled substance in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 952 , 960 & 963. The sole issue at trial and on this appeal is the admissibility of evidence discovered in a search of the defendant’s rectal cavity, under the circumstances described below.

On November 11, 1974, the appellant attempted to enter the United States from Mexico at the San Ysidro, California port of entry. He was stopped by customs inspector Harmon, who ascertained that Cameron’s vehicle was listed on the customs bureau’s computer as one requiring special attention. The inspector asked appellant about citizenship and importation, and in so doing noted that his eyes were “pinpointed” and that his speech was slurred. Inspector Harmon directed Cameron to drive to the secondary inspection area. Upon checking appellant’s arms for needle marks and discovering several, including a mark estimat *256 ed to be approximately one hour old, 1 Inspector Harmon concluded that appellant was “definitely” under the influence of narcotics.

Harmon thereupon received permission from his supervisor, Inspector Gaudur, to…

(concurring).

I concur in the opinion only because of the special circumstance in this case which permitted defendant to be lawfully held in custody for reasons unrelated to the detention for the body cavity search. There was no emergency. If the independent ground for retention in custody had not existed, I would think it incumbent on the officers to complete the search with dispatch.

538 F.2d 254 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Kenneth Malcolm CAMERON, Defendant-Appellant. No. 75-2030. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. June 21, 1976. Nelson P. Brav (argued), Brav & Schwartz, San Diego, Cal., for defendant-appellant. Robert D. Krause, Asst. U.S. Atty. (argued), San Diego, Cal., for plaintiff-appellee. OPINION Before HUFSTEDLER and KENNEDY, Circuit Judges, and THOMPSON, * District Judge. ANTHONY M. KENNEDY, Circuit Judge: 1 Appellant Kenneth Cameron was tried by the district court on stipulated facts and found guilty of importing a controlled substance in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 952 , 960 & 963. The sole issue at trial and on this appeal is the admissibility of evidence discovered in a search of the defendant's rectal cavity, under the circumstances described below. 2 On November 11, 1974, the appellant attempted to enter the United States from Mexico at the San Ysidro, California port of entry. He was stopped by customs inspector Harmon, who ascertained that Cameron's vehicle was listed on the customs bureau's computer as one requiring special attention. The inspector asked appellant about citizenship and…