United States v. Sharon Legail Welch

REINHARDT, Circuit Judge:

Sharon Legail Welch appeals her criminal convictions on the basis that the district court erroneously denied her motion to suppress incriminating evidence seized from her purse. We agree that the search of Welch’s purse violated her Fourth Amendment rights and therefore reverse and remand.

I. Background

Welch and her co-defendant David Anthony McGee were gambling at the Circus Circus Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada when casino employees became suspicious that they were passing counterfeit twenty-dollar bills. Welch and McGee were escorted to the casino security office where…