Summary:
Defendant is indicted for transporting child pornography. Defendant filed a motion to suppress evidence obtained from a search of his electronic devices as he was coming through the airport. Defendant was traveling back from the Philippines to the United States, and the Customs and Border Patrol officer stopped him because he was traveling from an area of "high sex tourism," which included Philippines, Thailand and Cambodia. The officer also noted that the defendant had a prior criminal record involving minors, and was also visibly nervous.
Without deciding where to draw the line exactly as to searches of personal electronics, the court found that the government showed enough grounds for searching the defendant's electronics, and denied the motion.
Takeaway:
The top level headline for this case should have been the search of personal electronics at the border--perhaps one of the most high-profile legal issues of late. But what caught my eyes was the connection with Asia: a free-standing surveillance for travelers coming from certain Asian countries.
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