United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez
F.2d 1214 (9th Cir. 1988); cert. granted, 490 U.S.
1019 (1989).
Holding
The Fourth Amendment does not apply to the search and seizure by United States agents of property owned by a nonresident alien and located in a foreign country.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
William J. Brennan Jr. · Byron White
Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blackmun
John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy
Case opinions
MajorityRehnquist, joined by White, O'Connor, Scalia, Kennedy
ConcurrenceKennedy
ConcurrenceStevens (in judgment)
DissentBrennan, joined by Marshall
DissentBlackmun
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. IV

United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez, 494 U.S. 259 (1990), was a

Fourth Amendment protections do not apply to searches and seizures by United States agents of property owned by a nonresident alien in a foreign country.[1]

Facts

Rene Martin Verdugo-Urquidez, a

Enrique Camarena Salazar, was arrested and brought to the United States. The DEA decided that it would be a good idea to search the defendant's home, so agents received authorization from the Mexican government to conduct the search. The agents found documents believed to be the defendant's records of his marijuana
shipments.

When the government sought to introduce the documents as

Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.[2]
The government then appealed to the Supreme Court.

Opinion of the Court

The Court held that the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures did not apply where United States agents searched and seized property located in a foreign country owned by a nonresident alien in the United States.

Chief Justice Rehnquist authored the opinion for the Court, joined by Justices White, Scalia, Kennedy and O'Connor, contending that "the people" intended to be protected by the Fourth Amendment were the people of the United States, and that the defendant's "legal but involuntary presence" on U.S. soil (a direct result of his arrest) failed to create a sufficient relationship with the U.S. to allow him to call upon the Constitution for protection.[3]

Concurring opinions

Justice Kennedy authored a concurring opinion, contending that the application of the Fourth Amendment in cases such as this would interfere with the ability of the U.S. to engage in actions designed to protect the nation's interests abroad.

Justice Stevens also authored a concurring opinion, contending that the Fourth Amendment and its accompanying prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures does apply in such cases, but concluding that this search and seizure was reasonable because it was done with the permission and assistance of the government of Mexico and because no U.S. court would have had the authority to issue a warrant for such a search.

Dissenting opinions

Justice Brennan dissented, joined by Justice Marshall
, contending that the Fourth Amendment was indeed intended by the framers to apply to any action undertaken by the federal government. They contended that the Constitution grants the government limited powers, and the application of rights is one such limitation. Therefore, no agent of the federal government could ever conduct a search that was not governed by the Fourth Amendment.

Justice Blackmun also dissented, contending that when a foreign national is charged with a violation of U.S. criminal law, he is being treated as one of the governed.

See also

References

  1. ^ United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez, 494 U.S. 259 (1990).
  2. 9th Cir.
    1988).
  3. ^ Verdugo-Urquidez, 494 U.S. at 260.

Further reading

  • Soltero, Carlos R. (2006). "U.S. v. Verdugo-Urquidez (1990) and limits to the applicability of the bill of rights geographically and as to only 'the people'". Latinos and American Law: Landmark Supreme Court Cases. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. pp. 145–156.
    ISBN 0-292-71411-4
    .
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_States_v._Verdugo-Urquidez&oldid=1175152131"