United States of America v. Arnold
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
523 F.3d 941 (2008)
- Written by Sharon Feldman, JD
Facts
Michael Arnold (defendant) arrived in the United States on a flight from the Philippines. Arnold’s luggage contained a laptop computer, a hard drive, a flash drive, and CDs. A customs and border-patrol officer instructed Arnold to turn on the computer. The officer clicked on folders entitled “Kodak Pictures” and “Kodak Memories,” opened the files, and viewed the photos. One photo depicted two nude women. Special agents examined Arnold’s computer and found images depicting child pornography. The agents seized the computer and storage devices and obtained a warrant two weeks later. Arnold was charged with child-pornography offenses. Arnold moved to suppress the evidence, arguing that the agents searched his computer without reasonable suspicion. The district court granted the motion, holding that because the search of private personal information stored on a computer could be as intrusive as a search of the person, reasonable suspicion was required to conduct a border search of a computer. The government (plaintiff) appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (O’Scannlain, J.)
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