Boarded in the Ship Channel

Customs officers, accompanied by state police, were patrolling a ship channel near a Gulf Coast port when they came upon a 40-foot sailboat at anchor. With no suspicion of any wrongdoing, they boarded it to examine its documents, relying on a federal statute that lets customs officers board vessels to inspect their papers. While on board, an officer smelled what he thought was burning marijuana and, through an open hatch, saw burlap-wrapped bales. A search turned up about 5,800 pounds of marijuana. The men aboard were convicted of importing marijuana, conspiring to import it, and possessing it with intent to distribute. The defence argued that boarding a boat without any suspicion was an unreasonable seizure under the Fourth Amendment, so the evidence had to be excluded.