United States v. Montoya de Hernandez

Rosa Elvira Montoya de Hernandez (Hernandez) (defendant) flew into Los Angeles on a direct flight from Bogotá, Colombia, a location considered a narcotics source. Because Hernandez had made eight recent trips to Miami or Los Angeles, customs officials flagged her for additional questioning. Hernandez claimed that she came to Los Angeles to purchase items to sell in her husband’s Bogotá store. She had $5,000 in cash but no hotel reservation, local friends or family, scheduled appointments, checks, or credit cards. Officials therefore suspected that Hernandez had swallowed drugs in balloons to smuggle them into the United States. A pat-down and strip search revealed that Hernandez was wearing two pairs of underwear and that her stomach was firm, reinforcing the suspicion that Hernandez was smuggling drugs in her alimentary canal. When officials were unable to get Hernandez on a prompt return flight to Colombia, Hernandez was held for observation, being told that she would remain in observation until she either had a monitored bowel movement or consented to an X-ray. Hernandez remained in detention for over 16 hours, refusing the X-ray and refraining from using the bathroom despite obvious discomfort. The officials then obtained a court order authorizing an X-ray and rectal exam, which revealed many balloons containing cocaine. Hernandez was convicted for federal drug offenses. The court of appeals reversed the conviction upon finding that the evidence available to officials before the detention did not provide a clear indication Hernandez was an alimentary-canal smuggler. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.