United States v. James Walter Newberry

990 F.2d 1264 NOTICE: Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3 provides that dispositions other than opinions or orders designated for publication are not precedential and should not be cited except when relevant under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. UNITED STATES of America Plaintiff-Appellee, v. James Walter NEWBERRY, Defendant-Appellant. No. 91-50339. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Jan. 4, 1993. Decided March 8, 1993. Before CANBY, BOOCHEVER and NORRIS, Circuit Judges. 1 MEMORANDUM * 2 James Newberry appeals from the district court's denial of his motion to suppress evidence. During a routine traffic stop of Newberry and his wife Karen on September 29, 1990, California Highway Patrol Officer Frederick Laurn discovered a loaded .22 magnum semi-automatic pistol and several baggies of marijuana in a briefcase in the back hatch of the car. That discovery created probable cause for a search of the entire vehicle, which revealed a bag containing 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine and resulted in the Newberry's arrest. The critical inquiry on this appeal is whether Officer Laurn's actions in discovering the contents of the…