United States v. Place

In Miami, airport police officers became suspicious of Raymond Place (defendant), who was buying a ticket to New York. The officers contacted Drug Enforcement Agency agents in New York. After Place claimed his two bags at the New York airport, the agents approached him. Place did not consent to a search of his bags. The agents seized Place’s bags, telling him they were going to get a search warrant. The agents invited Place to accompany them, but he declined. Without telling Place when or how he would get his bags back, the agents took the bags to a different airport. There, 90 minutes after the agents had seized Place’s bags, a trained narcotics-detection dog reacted to one bag. Based on the probable cause supplied by the dog, a judge issued a search warrant for that bag. The search revealed cocaine. Place was charged with possession with intent to distribute. Place moved to suppress the cocaine evidence, arguing that his bags had been unreasonably seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The district court denied the motion, ruling that the agents could seize the bags because they had reasonable suspicion that the bags contained drugs. Place pleaded guilty, reserving the right to appeal. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed, ruling that the agents were not allowed to detain Place’s bags for longer than an investigative detention, also known as a stop-and-frisk, and that they had detained the bags too long. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.