United States v. Robert Karl Ek

Robert Karl Ek and Joseph Mark Couch were apprehended at Los Angeles International Airport when they entered the country with capsules of cocaine concealed in their stomachs. Both Ek and Couch were detained and subjected to X-ray examinations. Ek, the appellant in this case, confessed to smuggling cocaine after the X-ray examination revealed the presence of foreign objects in his intestinal tract. He was convicted of importation of a controlled substance and possession with intent to distribute. He argues on appeal that the detention and X-ray search violated his fourth amendment rights, and that his confession was not voluntary. We reject these contentions and affirm.

I

FACTS

Ek and Couch arrived at Los Angeles International Airport at 7:30 a. m. on March 5, 1980, aboard a flight from Lima, Peru. At customs, an inspector told them that they were suspected of smuggling narcotics and took them to an area in which searches and interrogations are conducted.

The authorities were acting upon a confidential informant’s tip that during the week of March 4, 1980, Couch and a man named “Robert” would try to smuggle cocaine from Peru to the United States via Los Angeles International…

special concurrence.

While I agree that the judgment of the trial court clearly must be affirmed, I cannot agree to the inclusion of the dicta stating “We hold that the stricter standard required for a body cavity search also applies to an X-ray search”. Such a holding is neither required by the opinion, nor supported by any evidence adduced in this case.

The majority agrees that persons may be detained at the border for as long as is reasonably necessary to conduct a valid search, that the detention here was reasonable, and that by any standard (whether “real suspicion” or “clear indication”) it was plain that the defendant and his associate were involved in body cavity smuggling.

Although no warrant was required for an X-ray search, United States v. Aman, 624 F.2d 911 (9th Cir. 1980), the agents obtained from a magistrate, an order authorizing the X-ray procedures. I am aware of no authority which compels the obtaining of such an order, or which explains its nature or effect, or which sets the prerequisites for its issuance, but, as in Aman, supra, at p. 913 , the fact that it was issued here adds to the reasonableness of the procedure.

I concede that I have no factual…

676 F.2d 379 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Robert Karl EK, Defendant-Appellant. No. 80-1452. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Feb. 4, 1981. Decided May 3, 1982. James R. Dunn, Federal Public Defender, Los Angeles, Cal., argued, for defendant-appellant; Georgina Torres Rizk, Los Angeles, Cal., on brief. Hector C. Perez, Asst. U. S. Atty., Los Angeles, Cal., argued, for plaintiff-appellee; Andrea Sheridan Ordin, U. S. Atty., Robert L. Brosio, Asst. U. S. Atty., Los Angeles, Cal., on brief. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Before FLETCHER and PREGERSON, Circuit Judges, and SCHNACKE, District Judge. * FLETCHER, Circuit Judge: 1 Robert Karl Ek and Joseph Mark Couch were apprehended at Los Angeles International Airport when they entered the country with capsules of cocaine concealed in their stomachs. Both Ek and Couch were detained and subjected to X-ray examinations. Ek, the appellant in this case, confessed to smuggling cocaine after the X-ray examination revealed the presence of foreign objects in his intestinal tract. He was convicted of importation of a controlled substance…