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marijuana or cocaine in the tractor-trailer. Saucedo said he did not. The trooper asked
if he could search the tractor-trailer, and Saucedo replied, “yes.”
Spotting what he thought was an alteration to a small alcove that housed a
compartment in the bunk area behind the driver’s seat, the trooper used a flashlight and
a screwdriver to remove one screw and pull back the plastic molding around the alcove.
When he peered inside, the trooper saw a hidden compartment.
The trooper then
removed the 3 remaining screws from the molding, took out the hidden compartment
from the alcove, opened it, and found 10 kilograms of cocaine. Seeking to suppress the
cocaine, Saucedo claimed that the trooper had exceeded the scope of the consent given.
The Seventh Circuit rejected this argument and affirmed the denial of the suppression
motion.
The Court reiterated the standard for measuring the scope of a consent under the
Fourth Amendment – an objective standard which asks what a typical reasonable
person would have understood by the exchange by the police officer and the person
who consented. Saucedo, 688 F.3d at 865. The Seventh Circuit then emphasized:
“When a person is informed that an officer is looking for drugs in his car
and he gives consent without explicit limitation, the consent permits law
enforcement to search inside compartments and containers within the car,
so long as the compartment or container can be opened without causing
damage.” United States v. Calvo-Saucedo, 409 Fed. Appx. 21, 24 (7 th Cir.
2011). And as the Supreme Court explained, “[a] reasonable person may
be expected to know that narcotics are generally carried in some form of
container. Contraband goods rarely are strewn across the trunk or floor of
a [vehicle.]” Jimeno, 500 U.S. at 252….
So Saucedo was well aware that [Trooper] Miller was looking for drugs.
And Saucedo gave his consent to search without any express limitation.
Thus, his consent allowed Miller to search inside compartments in the
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