Denson v. US, No. 05-15572

In a Bivens action involving claims that then-pregnant plaintiff was detained and searched at an airport based on a suspicion that she was smuggling drugs internally, judgment for defendants is affirmed where: 1) pursuant to the long-standing right of the sovereign to protect its territorial integrity, preliminary searches and seizures are per se reasonable simply by virtue of the fact that they occur at the border; 2) defendants acted reasonably in detaining plaintiff and taking her to a hospital for further, more intrusive, examinations; and 3) state law tort claims were barred under the Supremacy Clause.

Read Denson v. US, No. 05-15572

Appellate Information

Filed July 15, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Tjoflat