US v. Marquez

No. 04-30243 (6-7-05). Now that the airlines are cutting down on meals, and some are even getting rid of the pretzels and peanuts, what is an air traveler to do for entertainment? The defendant decided to bring 2 kilos of cocaine on board, strapped on his inner thigh and held by spandex tights. The problem is that he was randomly selected for one of the heightened searches, and the wand alerted. One thing lead to another, and the coke was discovered. he tried to argue that the search was intrusive, but it was uncontested that he was randomly selected, and that he had passed through the first screening by choice. The 9th gives the usual hortatory warnings about the hallowedness of the 4th amendment, but in light of the precedent of airplane searches, precedent, and the War on Terror, the search was reasonable.