United States v. Flores-Montano

United States v. Flores-Montano
Argued February 25, 2004
Decided March 30, 2004
Full case nameUnited States of America v. Manuel Flores-Montano
Docket no.02-1794
Citations541 U.S. 149 (more)
124 S. Ct. 1582; 158 L. Ed. 2d 311; 2004 U.S. LEXIS 2548; 72 U.S.L.W. 4263; 17 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 207
ArgumentOral argument
Case history
PriorMotion to suppress granted by the United States District Court for the Southern District of California and affirmed by the Ninth Circuit in an unpublished opinion; cert. granted, 540 U.S. 945 (2003).
SubsequentOn remand at, Remanded by United States v. Flores-Montano, 377 F.3d 1105, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 15999 (9th Cir., Aug. 4, 2004)
Holding
At the international border, the Fourth Amendment does not require reasonable suspicion for customs agents to remove the gas tank from a vehicle entering the United States in order to check for drugs.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy
David Souter · Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Case opinion
MajorityRehnquist, joined by unanimous
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. IV

United States v. Flores-Montano, 541 U.S. 149 (2004), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that customs agents may remove the gas tank from a vehicle crossing the international border in an effort to look for contraband.