Clarence Tramiel Beard v. United States
FourthAmendment CriminalProcedure
whether-the-investigatory-detention-and-subsequent-transportation-of-an-item-seized-from-the-mail-intrudes-on-a-possessory-interest-protected-by-the-fourth-amendment
QUESTIONS PRESENTED 1. Whether the investigatory detention, and subsequent transportation to a new location, of an item seized from the mail intrudes on a possessory interest protected by the Fourth Amendment, and so must inform the judicial assessment of whether the detention was “minimally intrusive” in scope and duration “so as to be justifiable on reasonable suspicion.” United States v. Place, 462 U.S. 696, 702 (1983). 2. Whether the detention of a package seized from the mail became unreasonably intrusive under the circumstances of this case, where the detaining officials transported the package hundreds of miles from its intended destination, and thereby extended the detention well beyond the expected delivery date, before taking any investigative steps designed to confirm or dispel their suspicion. 1