United States v. Ernest G.M. Rowland

ORDER AND OPINION

ORDER

The panel has unanimously voted to grant the petition for panel rehearing. The petition for rehearing en banc is denied as moot. The unpublished memorandum disposition of July 3, 2006, is hereby withdrawn. An opinion shall be filed concurrently with this order.

OPINION

Defendant-Appellant Ernest G.M. Rowland appeals the denial of his motion to suppress evidence and his motion for pretrial discovery related to his conviction for possession of methamphetamine with in tent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a)(1), (b)(l)(A)(viii). We have jurisdiction over this appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and we affirm. We hold that Guam Customs officers are statutorily authorized to stop any passenger arriving in Guam if the officer has reasonable suspicion to believe that the passenger is violating Guam’s drug laws. We also conclude, that the totality of the circumstances in this case gave rise to reasonable suspicion of such a violation, and that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it denied Rowland’s motion for pretrial discovery.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

In October 2003, Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) agents in…