Facts of the Case

Provided by Oyez

Customs officials stopped Rosa Elvira Montoya de Hernandez at the Los Angeles Airport, where she arrived after a flight from Bogota, Columbia. Montoya de Hernandez’s passport revealed eight recent trips from Bogota to Miami or Los Angeles. After further questioning, officials detained Montoya de Hernandez under suspicion that she was smuggling drugs in her alimentary canal. After 16 hours of detention where Montoya de Hernandez did not speak or use the bathroom, officials obtained a court order for an x-ray and other tests. At the hospital, a doctor removed a balloon filled with cocaine from her rectum. Over the next four days, Montoya de Hernandez passed 88 balloons filled with cocaine, totaling 528 grams. At trial, the district court admitted the cocaine into evidence and convicted Montoya de Hernandez on federal drug charges. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed, holding that Montoya de Hernandez’s detention violated the Fourth Amendment because customs officials did not have a “clear indication” that she was smuggling drugs.

Questions

  1. Could Montoya de Hernandez be lawfully be detained for the period of four days by customs officials who reasonably suspected that she was attempting to smuggle illegal drugs in her body?

Conclusions

  1. Yes. Justice William H. Rehnquist, writing for a 7-2 majority, reversed the court of appeals. The Supreme Court held that detention of a traveler at an international border is justified if customs agents reasonably suspect that the traveler is smuggling illegal drugs in their body. The facts in this case supported that reasonable suspicion. Given the manner in which the drugs were concealed, Montoya de Hernandez’s detention was not unreasonably long. Justice John Paul Stevens concurred in the judgment, writing that the detention was justified because Montoya de Hernandez refused to consent to the x-ray.

    Justice William J. Brenan dissented, arguing that government officials should not have a lower standard for detaining someone at an international border than in the interior of the United States. Indefinite detentions are only reasonable with approval of a magistrate, and that approval can only be given if there is probable cause.