Hilliard

United States v. Hilliard

Good Law
289 F. App'x 239
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitAugust 18, 2008No. 06-50709California509 words

Opinion

Lead Opinion

MEMORANDUM *

Hilliard appeals from the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence obtained when Customs and Border Protection searched his laptop at the Los Angeles International Airport. He also appeals from several conditions of supervised release the district court imposed after he pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(5)(B). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and 18 U.S.C. § 3742 , and we affirm.

Hilliard argues there exists a heightened privacy interest in the contents of a laptop computer, similar to the privacy interests one has in a body or home, and a search of a laptop at the border therefore requires reasonable suspicion under the Fourth Amendment. We squarely rejected this argument in United States v. Arnold, 523 F.3d 941, 945-46 (9th Cir.2008). Hilliard also argues the contents of a laptop computer are subject to First Amendment protections at the border because of their potentially expressive nature. We also re *240 jected this argument in Arnold, see id. at 948. We therefore affirm the district court’s denial of Hilliard’s motion to suppress evidence obtained from his laptop…

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