United States v. Garcia-Garcia, No. 18-3071 (8th Cir. 2020)
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The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of defendant's motion to dismiss after he pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin. The court held that the record supported the district court's conclusion that defendant voluntarily consented to the search of his suitcase.
Examining the totality of the circumstances, the district court did not clearly err in finding that a reasonable officer would have believed defendant understood that the officer was requesting to search his suitcase. Although the officer's Spanish may have been imperfect, -- he referred to defendant's suitcase as a "bolsa" -- the context of the interaction and defendant's response mean it was not clearly erroneous to find that a reasonable officer would believe defendant understood the officer's request. Furthermore, the relative ease with which the officer and defendant communicated using the translation application further supports the district court's finding that it was reasonable for the officer to believe defendant consented based in part on a request using the term "bolsa"—a translation produced by the application. Finally, the court held that the district court did not clearly err in finding that the video indicates that the officer clarified any confusion that may have existed as to the meaning of his request. In this context, a reasonable officer would expect a person to understand the question "¿permite?", or "May I?", as requesting consent to search the suitcase.
Court Description: [Gruender, Author, with Kelly and Erickson, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Criminal law. Substantial evidence supported the district court's determination that defendant understood the police officer's request to search "uno bolsa" to mean a request to search his checked bag, especially in light of the video of the encounter, which shows the officer clarified any confusion as to which bag was the subject of the request: a reasonable officer would expect a Spanish speaker to understand the question "permite?" as requesting consent to search that bag and would have interpreted defendant's physical actions as consistent with his prior oral consent to the search; the record supported the district court's conclusion that defendant voluntarily consented to the search; evidence seized from the bag was admissible. Judge Kelly, dissenting.
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