United States v. Montoya-Hernandez

473 U.S. 531 (1985)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P arrived in L.A. from direct flight from Columbia. Her visa was in order, so she was passed through Immigration and proceeded to the customs desk. The customs inspector noticed from her passport that she had made at least eight recent trips to either Miami or Los Angeles. P was referred to a secondary customs desk for further questioning. P spoke no English and had no family or friends in the United States. P claimed she came to purchase goods for her husband's store in Bogota. P possessed $5,000 in cash, mostly $50 bills, but had no billfold. P had no appointments with merchandise vendors but planned to ride around Los Angeles in taxicabs visiting retail stores. P had no hotel reservations but stated that she planned to stay at a Holiday Inn, and she could not recall how her airline ticket was purchased. P also had four changes of 'cold weather' clothing and no shoes other than the high-heeled pair she was wearing. The inspectors suspected that P was a 'balloon swallower,' one who attempts to smuggle narcotics into this country hidden in her alimentary canal. They got a female customs inspector to take P to a private area and conduct a pat down and strip search. The inspector felt P's abdomen area and noticed a firm fullness as if P were wearing a girdle. The search revealed no contraband, but P was wearing two pairs of elastic underpants with a paper towel lining the crotch area. P agreed to be x-rayed at a hospital but stated that she was pregnant. She agreed to a pregnancy test before the x-ray. P withdrew the consent for an x-ray when she learned that she would have to be handcuffed en route to the hospital. P was given the option of returning to Colombia on the next available flight, agreeing to an x-ray, or remaining in detention until she produced a monitored bowel movement that would confirm or rebut their suspicions. P chose the first option and was placed in a customs office under observation. If she went to the toilet, she would have to use a wastebasket in the women's restroom in order that female customs inspectors could inspect her stool for balloons or capsules carrying narcotics. The airline refused to transport P because she lacked a Mexican visa necessary to land in Mexico City. P was then detained until she agreed to an x-ray or her bowels moved. She refused all offers of food and drink and refused to use the toilet facilities. After 16 hours, the officials sought a court order authorizing a pregnancy test, an x-ray, and a rectal examination. The pregnancy test turned out to be negative. A rectal examination resulted in a balloon containing a foreign substance being removed, and P was arrested. P eventually passed 88 balloons containing a total of 528 grams of 80% pure cocaine hydrochloride. The District Court admitted the cocaine over P's objections. She was convicted of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and unlawful importation of cocaine. The Ninth Circuit reversed. The decision to let nature take its course rather than seek an immediate magistrate's warrant for an x-ray required a 'clear indication' or 'plain suggestion' that the traveler was an alimentary canal smuggler. P appealed contending that the customs inspectors reasonably suspected that P was an alimentary canal smuggler, and this suspicion was sufficient to justify the detention.