DISCLAIMER: The following unofficial case summaries are prepared by the clerk's office
as a courtesy to the reader. They are not part of the opinion of the court.
083898P.pdf 04/06/2010 United States v. Jese Hernandez-Mendoza
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 08-3898
and No: 08-3899
U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota
[PUBLISHED] [Colloton, Author, with Beam and Benton, Circuit Judges]
Criminal case - Criminal law. State trooper did not violate the Fourth
Amendment by extending defendants' traffic stop to search their vehicle
as the trooper had probable cause to believe there was contraband in the
car; trooper's act of leaving defendants in his cruiser with the recording
device activated was not the functional equivalent of express questioning
and their recorded comments were admissible; evidence was sufficient to
support defendants' conspiracy and drug convictions; giving of a
deliberate ignorance instruction was error, but the error was harmless in
light of the evidence of defendants' guilt.