United States v. Francisco Maria Mota, United States of America v. Juan Maria Mota

I.

On November 25, 1990, brothers Juan Maria and Francisco Maria Mota were selling hot corn-on-the-cob from a shopping cart in Santa Ana, California. Officers Haynes and Carillo of the Santa Ana Police Department approached Juan Mota, and asked whether the corn cart was his. He told the officers that he ran the cart with his brother. Francisco Mota then approached and identified himself. The officers asked the brothers whether they had a business license to operate the cart. They admitted that they did not have a license, and the officers arrested and handcuffed them for operating without a valid business license in violation of Santa Ana Municipal Code § 21-6. The officers searched the brothers, and found 41 counterfeit twenty-dollar bills in their pockets.

The Motas were then taken to the Santa Ana police station, cited for operating a business without a license, and detained until Secret Service agents arrived to question them regarding the counterfeit money. Both appellants made incriminating statements at that time, and were subsequently charged with possession of counterfeit Federal Reserve notes in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 472 .

In January, 1991, appellants joined in a…

concurring:

I concur in the opinion, but write separately because I have misgivings about the condition in which we now leave the law.

I concur because it is eminently sensible to hold that a search incident to an illegal arrest cannot stand. I have misgivings because that produces some rather strange legal results.

We know that the legality of a search does not depend “on the law of the particular State in which the search occurs.” California v. Greenwood, 486 U.S. 35, 43 , 108 S.Ct. 1625, 1630 , 100 L.Ed.2d 30 (1988). It is a question of federal constitutional law, even if the state gives greater protection.

We also know that the legality of an arrest does not depend upon the law of the particular state where the arrest occurs. That, too, is a question of federal constitutional law, even if the state gives greater protection. Barry v. Fowler, 902 F.2d 770, 773 (9th Cir.1990).

Here, however, we hold that the legality of a search following an arrest does depend on the law of the state where the arrest and search occur. It seems strange to say that can be so. More than that, it creates a curious trap for law enforcement officers.

For example, consider the officer in Barry .…

982 F.2d 1384 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Francisco Maria MOTA, Defendant-Appellant. UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Juan Maria MOTA, Defendant-Appellant. Nos. 91-50170, 91-50181. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted June 3, 1992. Decided Jan. 8, 1993. Maria G. Valdez and Joan Politeo Freeman, Deputy Federal Public Defenders, Santa Ana, CA, for defendant-appellant Francisco Maria Mota. James L. Waltz, Laguna Hills, CA, for defendant-appellant Juan Maria Mota. Christopher D. Johnson, Asst. U.S. Atty., Los Angeles, CA, for plaintiff-appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Before POOLE, BRUNETTI and FERNANDEZ, Circuit Judges. POOLE, Circuit Judge: I. 1 On November 25, 1990, brothers Juan Maria and Francisco Maria Mota were selling hot corn-on-the-cob from a shopping cart in Santa Ana, California. Officers Haynes and Carillo of the Santa Ana Police Department approached Juan Mota, and asked whether the corn cart was his. He told the officers that he ran the cart with his brother. Francisco Mota then approached and identified himself. The officers asked the…