United States v. Jose Armando Ochoa-Sanchez

EUGENE A. WRIGHT, Circuit Judge:

Defendant was convicted of illegal importation and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. At trial he denied any knowledge that the heroin was in the car. On appeal, he claims primarily that his due process rights were violated by the prosecutor’s use of post-arrest silence to impeach his trial testimony. We affirm.

I. Post-Arrest Silence

On December 15, 1980, defendant drove into the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Responding to the customs inspector’s questions, he said he had visited Mexico for fun and had been there for two or three hours.…