United States v. Ickes

393 F.3d 501 (4th Cir. 2005)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D drove to the Canadian border with the United States, and told a U.S. Customs Inspector that he was returning from vacation. The inspector was puzzled by this statement because D's van appeared to contain 'everything he owned.' Agent Albanese began a routine inspection of the van. Suspicions were raised after discovering a video camera containing a tape of a tennis match which focused excessively on a young ball boy. They searched the van more thoroughly. They found marijuana seeds, marijuana pipes, and a copy of a Virginia warrant for D's arrest. They also found several albums containing photographs of provocatively-posed prepubescent boys, most nude or seminude. D was placed under arrest. D was subject to two outstanding warrants - one from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and one from Chesterfield County, Virginia. D was in custody, and before he was interrogated, several agents continued to search the van. They confiscated a computer and approximately 75 disks containing additional child pornography. One of the disks ultimately revealed a home-movie of Ickes fondling the genitals of two young children. D was charged with transporting child pornography. D filed a motion to suppress the contents of the computer and the disks. He alleged that the warrantless search which produced this evidence violated his First and Fourth Amendment rights. The motion was denied as the search fell under the extended border search doctrine - an established exception to the Fourth Amendment warrant requirement. D was convicted and appealed.