| Almeida-Sanchez v. United States | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued March 19, 28, 1973 Decided June 21, 1973 | |
| Full case name | Almeida-Sanchez v. United States |
| Citations | 413 U.S. 266 (more) 93 S. Ct. 2535; 37 L. Ed. 2d 596; 1973 U.S. LEXIS 44 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | United States v. Almeida-Sanchez, 452 F.2d 459 (9th Cir. 1971); cert. granted, 406 U.S. 944 (1972). |
| Holding | |
| Searches of automobiles must still have probable cause even in the absence of a warrant. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Stewart, joined by Douglas, Brennan, Marshall, Powell |
| Concurrence | Powell |
| Dissent | White, joined by Burger, Blackmun, Rehnquist |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. IV | |
Almeida-Sanchez v. United States, 413 U.S. 266 (1973), was a United States Supreme Court case holding that the search of an automobile by the United States Border Patrol without a warrant or probable cause violates the Fourth Amendment.[1] The vehicle was stopped and searched for illegal aliens twenty-five miles (40 km) from the Mexican border.[2] The Court approached the search from four views: automobile search, administrative inspection, heavily regulated industry inspection, and border search. As to the validity of the search under the automobile exception, the Court found no justification for the search under the Carroll doctrine[3] because there was no probable cause. As to the validity of the search under various administrative inspection doctrines, the Court found that the officers lacked an area warrant. As to the validity of the heavily regulated industry inspection, the Court found that the doctrine is not applicable to traveling on a state highway. As to the validity of a border search, the Court found that the site of the stop and the entirety of the road on which the stop occurred was too far from the border to be considered a border search.
- ^ Almeida-Sanchez v. United States, 413 U.S. 266 (1973).
- ^ "Almeida-Sanchez v. United States 413 U.S. 266 (1973)". Encyclopedia of the American Constitution. Gale. 2000. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
- ^ Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132 (1925).