Case library · Square Grouper
The Number Under the Bales
United States v. Erwin (1979)
Charge: Conspiracy to import / possess marijuanaCourt: U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th CircuitState: LouisianaDocket: Square Grouper
Could officers search on the strength of a routine check, and try the crew where they were first brought ashore?
The facts
A cutter met a shrimp boat about seventy miles south of a river mouth and ordered her to heave to for a routine papers and safety check. The boarding officer smelled marijuana at once. In the main hold, cargo had been stacked over the vessel's own identification number. A search turned up 1,230 bales, over 49,400 pounds, in nearly every free space aboard. Nobody proved where the cargo was to be landed.
You have the facts the court had. Guilty or not guilty? Call it in the game with your friends, then see what the court actually decided. Wrong call, you drink.
Citation: United States v. Erwin, 602 F.2d 1183 (5th Cir. 1979)
Read more at openjurist.org. The source reveals the outcome.