United States v. Christopher Russell Kilgus, United States of America v. Thomas Caso, United States of America v. Jeffrey Lee Beck

Appellants were convicted by the district court below of illegal importation of marijuana (Count II) and possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute (Count IV) [ 21 U.S.C. §§ 952 , 960, 963, 841(a)(1), and 18 U.S.C. § 2 ]. We reverse appellants’ convictions because the only substantial evidence which connects them with the crime (a “unique identification” of their aircraft by a Customs Officer using a Forward Looking Infrared system (FLIR)) was inadmissible.

THE FLIR SYSTEM

Briefly, the FLIR is a relatively new system developed by the military for the detection and tracking of targets through the use of infrared light rays. The system scans an area much the same as radar and utilizes an array of infrared detectors (the type, number, and effectiveness of each being a military secret). Infrared rays are picked up by these detectors, electronically processed, and shown as a visual image on a 6" X 8V2" screen very similar to a black and white TV screen. The image on the screen appears in black, white and grey contrasts. That is, objects which are hotter than their background appear white and objects colder than their background appear black (or vice, versa, since the “mode”…