United States v. $277,000.00 U.S. Currency One 1986 Dodge Ram Charger, Jalisco, Mexico Lic. No. Hwy773, and Ramon S. Montes, Claimant-Appellant

The Government obtained the civil forfeiture of a 1986 Dodge Ram Charger and $277,000 in U.S. currency found in this vehicle, pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 881 (1988). Claimant Montes appeals on the ground that evidence discovered in the search of the Dodge Ram Charger should have been suppressed because it was obtained in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. He contends that the police conduct in searching the leased Dodge Ram Charger, which was covered and parked in the backyard of a home, in order to discover the vehicle identification number (“VIN”), was a violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. The $277,000 in currency was discovered in the process and was confiscated when the narcotics-detector dog alerted on the currency. The central issue of the appeal is whether the police have a right to search a parked vehicle to obtain the VIN. Execution of the judgment has been stayed pending this appeal, pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 62(d). We reverse.

I.

On October 13, 1987 at 11:32 a.m., Mon-tebello Police Department Officers Rodriguez and Gorman responded to a complaint of loud music from a black pickup truck at 484 Via Norte in a Montebello residential area. Because an incorrect…

dissenting:

I agree with the majority that Montes had no legitimate expectation of privacy in the residence or the backyard. I also agree that he did have a legitimate expectation of privacy in the vehicles and, therefore, that he has standing to contest the officers’ conduct regarding them. I disagree that lifting the vehicle cover to observe the VIN was an unreasonable search in the circumstances in this case, and so I dissent.

Because of the extensive regulation of automobiles and the importance of the VIN to that system of regulation, 1 the Supreme Court has held that there is “no reasonable expectation of privacy in the VIN.” New York v. Class, 475 U.S. 106, 114 , 106 S.Ct. 960, 966 , 89 L.Ed.2d 81 (1986). Further, purposefully or inadvertently obscuring the VIN from ordinary view to someone outside the vehicle does not create a privacy interest in the VIN. Id. Nevertheless, the Court recognized in Class that vehicle owners do have some expectation of privacy in the interior of their vehicles, where the VIN is usually located, although that interest is not as weighty as the interest in the privacy of one’s home, for example. See id. at 112-13 , 106 S.Ct. at 965 .

In Class…

941 F.2d 898 60 USLW 2174 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. $277,000.00 U.S. CURRENCY; One 1986 Dodge Ram Charger, Jalisco, Mexico Lic. No. HWY773, Defendants, and Ramon S. Montes, Claimant-Appellant. No. 89-56005. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Nov. 8, 1990. Decided Aug. 8, 1991. Gerson S. Horn, and William S. Pitman, Beverly Hills, Cal., for claimant-appellant. Donna R. Eide, Asst. U.S. Atty., Los Angeles, Cal., for plaintiff-appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Before HUG, CANBY and WIGGINS, Circuit Judges. HUG, Circuit Judge: 1 The Government obtained the civil forfeiture of a 1986 Dodge Ram Charger and $277,000 in U.S. currency found in this vehicle, pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 881 (1988). Claimant Montes appeals on the ground that evidence discovered in the search of the Dodge Ram Charger should have been suppressed because it was obtained in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. He contends that the police conduct in searching the leased Dodge Ram Charger, which was covered and parked in the backyard of a home, in order to discover the vehicle identification…