People v. Stasi

Opinion

EMERSON, J.

*

Appellant pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana after his motion to suppress the evidence was denied. In this appeal from the ensuing judgment he attacks the constitutionality and validity of the airport security search which disclosed his possession of the contraband.

Prior to boarding a Pan American flight, defendant was subjected to the same predeparture screening required of all passengers to prevent airline hijacking and sabotage. The security check consists of a magnetom

[375]

eter screening of each passenger and the opening and search of each piece of hand luggage.

According to security guard Artina Miles, appellant Stasi “. . . came down the pier and he started to go through the mag [magnetometer], so I told him that he had to get his sleeping bag checked. . . .” As Ms. Miles felt down the sleeping bag, she felt “... a lump somewhere in the middle of it.” She testified that “. . . it was sort of hard. That is why ... I wanted to know more what was in there.” With reference to the hardness of the object, the guard testified further that the suspicious lump was not hard like a brick; that it had some give to it; that she really had no idea what it was and that in her experience as an airport security guard she had never come across a weapon that felt and appeared like the bulge in question. Security guard Miles then asked defendant what the lump was. When defendant replied “nothing” Ms. Miles, her suspicions aroused, proceeded to unroll the sleeping bag. Upon discovery of 57.2 grams of marijuana, Stasi was placed under arrest.

In

People

v.

Hyde

(1974) 12 Cal.3d 158 [115 Cal.Rptr. 358, 524 P.2d 830], the court held that the preboarding airport search made for the purpose of discovering weapons and explosives and deterring hijackers was not in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The court further held that the incidental discovery of contraband during the course of the search did not violate the Fourth Amendment.