United States v. Washington

RONEY, Senior Circuit Judge:

In this warrantless search of passengers traveling on an interstate bus, the government relies upon the consent of the searched passengers to obviate the need for a warrant. After the district court denied the defendant’s motion to suppress evidence obtained during the search, the defendant was convicted at a bench trial of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). The only issue before us is whether the consent given by the defendant for the search was uncoereed and legally voluntary. We hold that it was not and vacate the conviction. In…