United States v. Joseph Mark Couch

BOOCHEVER, Circuit Judge.

This case requires us to evaluate the border detention of an individual suspected of carrying illicit drugs within his body. Joseph Mark Couch was indicted for importation and possession of cocaine. Prior to trial, he moved to suppress x-rays of his abdominal region, and the cocaine eventually retrieved from his digestive system. The district court granted his suppression motion, finding that Couch’s airport detention of over nine hours was unreasonable, and that the affidavits supporting a court-ordered x-ray examination were insufficient to establish probable cause.…