SAN DIEGO DISTRICT ATTORNEY The Fourth Amendment and ...

difficulty of travel in Alaska with a drug-sniffing dog.
(United States v. Lozano (9 th Cir. 2010) 623 F.3 rd 1055.)
How long a container may be detained (i.e., a “reasonable time”)
depends upon the circumstances. (United States v. Van Leeuwen
(1970) 397 U.S. 249, 252 [25 L.Ed.2 nd 282, 285]; 29 hours okay.)
United States v. Hernandez (9 th Cir. 2002) 313 F.3 rd 1206;
twenty-two hours held to be justifiable.
United States v. Dass (9 th Cir. 1988) 849 F.2 nd 414;
packages held from seven to twenty-three days found to be
excessive.
United States v. Aldaz (9 th Cir. 1990) 921 F.2 nd 227; three
to five day detention found to be reasonable under the
circumstances.
United States v. Gill (9 th Cir. 2002) 280 F.3 rd 923, 926-929;
six-day delay, over a weekend, okay.
United States v. Lozano (9 th Cir. 2010) 623 F.3 rd 1055; 22
hours, particularly given the difficulty of travel in Alaska
with a drug-sniffing dog.
United States v. Mayomi (7 th Cir. 1989) 873 F.2 nd 1049,
1053-1054: A two-day detention of two letters was
acceptable because it was supported by probable cause.
Also note:
A ten-minute delay does not significantly interfere
with the timely delivery of a package in the normal
course of business, and therefore does not even
need a reasonable suspicion to justify. The package
would have been delivered at the same time even
without this delay. (United States v. Hoang (9 th
Cir. 2007) 486 F.3 rd 1156.)
© 2012 Robert C. Phillips. All rights reserved
But see United States v. Place (1983) 462 U.S. 696
[77 L.Ed.2 nd 110]: The detention of a suspect's
luggage at an airport for exposure to a trained
narcotics dog was held to exceed the bounds of a
permissible investigative detention and was
unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment. The
evidence obtained from the subsequent search of the
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