United States v. Kenneth Lange Martin

Martin appeals his conviction of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. The only issue on appeal is whether the district court erred when it denied Martin’s motion to suppress contraband seized at his home without a warrant.

Laura L. Garcia, an undercover DEA agent, came to Martin’s house at his invitation posing as a buyer of contraband. She watched Martin weigh the cocaine, place it in a plastic bag, place the plastic bag inside a manila envelope, place the envelope in a bank bag, zip the bank bag shut, lock the bank bag, and put it in the bottom left-hand drawer of a desk in Martin’s bedroom. 1 Garcia then went outside to meet another agent (allegedly her “girlfriend” with the money). When Garcia returned, she arrested Martin in the hallway. He *78 was taken into the living room and placed in a chair. Garcia then went back into the bedroom at the end of the hallway, opened the bottom left-hand desk drawer, and retrieved the locked bank bag. The key was obtained from Martin and used to open the bag. Garcia then took the bag to the police station.

Warrantless searches are per se unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment, subject only to a few specifically established…

dissenting.

Martin packed the bag in front of Garcia without any expectation of privacy. Accordingly, I would not extend Chadwick to the facts of this case.

Chadwick has its roots in the privacy values of the person and of the person’s possession. Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 351 , 88 S.Ct. 507, 511 , 19 L.Ed.2d 576 (1967). Chadwick does not require a mechanical formality. The invasion of privacy in Chadwick was the unwarranted opening of luggage that had been packed in privacy. In our case, Martin had displayed his merchandise to his customer (who turned out to be a police officer) and he had also allowed his supposed customer to watch him pack. Martin retained no expectation of privacy in his merchandise as far as Garcia was concerned. When it developed that Garcia was not a customer but a police officer, Martin’s faith in Garcia turned out to have been misplaced, but no privacy had been invaded. See Lewis v. United States, 385 U.S. 206, 210 , 87 S.Ct. 424, 427 , 17 L.Ed.2d 312 (1966).

It is argued that the time element, some ten to twenty minutes, extinguishes “plain view” and restores to the drawer and its contents some element of privacy that must not be violated…

693 F.2d 77 UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Kenneth Lange MARTIN, Appellant. No. 81-1758. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted July 8, 1982. Decided Nov. 2, 1982. William J. Friedl, Phoenix, Ariz., for appellant. Gloria Ybarra, Asst. U.S. Atty., Phoenix, Ariz., for appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. Before GOODWIN and NELSON, Circuit Judges, and MARSHALL, * District Judge. PER CURIAM. 1 Martin appeals his conviction of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. The only issue on appeal is whether the district court erred when it denied Martin's motion to suppress contraband seized at his home without a warrant. 2 Laura L. Garcia, an undercover DEA agent, came to Martin's house at his invitation posing as a buyer of contraband. She watched Martin weigh the cocaine, place it in a plastic bag, place the plastic bag inside a manila envelope, place the envelope in a bank bag, zip the bank bag shut, lock the bank bag, and put it in the bottom left-hand drawer of a desk in Martin's bedroom. 1 Garcia then went outside to meet another agent (allegedly her "girlfriend" with the money). When Garcia…