## Facts

- Howard Wesley Cotterman and his wife sought to reenter the United States at the Lukeville, Arizona port of entry after traveling to Mexico.
- A CBP database check produced a TECS alert tied to Cotterman’s prior child sex offense convictions and warning of possible child pornography.
- Officers found two laptops and several digital cameras.
- A cursory inspection at the port of entry found no contraband but revealed numerous password-protected files.
- Officers detained the laptops for forensic examination and transported them approximately 170 miles to Tucson, Arizona.
- A detailed forensic examination uncovered a substantial quantity of child pornography, including images depicting child molestation.
- Cotterman was indicted on child pornography charges and moved to suppress evidence from the forensic examination.
- The district court suppressed the evidence, treating the off-site forensic review as an “extended border search” requiring reasonable suspicion and finding the standard unmet.
- The Ninth Circuit, sitting en banc, reversed the suppression order and remanded.

## Issues

1. Whether the off-site forensic examination of a laptop seized at the border constituted an “extended border search” requiring heightened justification due to time and distance from the port of entry.
2. Whether the Fourth Amendment permits suspicionless forensic examinations of electronic devices under the border search exception, or instead requires reasonable suspicion.
3. If reasonable suspicion is required, whether the agents had reasonable suspicion under the totality of the circumstances to conduct the forensic examination.

## Decision

- The court held the forensic examination remained a border search, not an extended border search, because the device never cleared customs and Cotterman did not regain possession.
- The court held that manual or cursory inspections of electronic devices at the border may occur without suspicion, but a comprehensive forensic examination of a computer requires reasonable suspicion.
- The court found reasonable suspicion existed based on the totality of circumstances, including the TECS alert, Cotterman’s criminal history involving child sex offenses, travel circumstances, and the presence of multiple devices and password-protected files.
- The court concluded the scope and manner of the search were reasonable and the evidence should not have been suppressed, and it remanded for further proceedings.

## Legal Principles

- Under the border search exception, routine searches of persons and property at the border generally may be conducted without a warrant, probable cause, or reasonable suspicion.
- A forensic examination of a computer seized at the border is materially more intrusive than a manual review because it can access hidden, deleted, and password-protected data and can reveal extensive personal and sensitive information.
- Reasonable suspicion is required to conduct a comprehensive forensic examination of an electronic device seized at the border.
- The triggering factor for reasonable suspicion is the comprehensive and intrusive character of the forensic process, not the fact that the examination occurs off-site or after a delay while the property remains in government custody from the border encounter.
- Password protection alone does not establish reasonable suspicion, but it may be considered as part of the totality of circumstances and may bear on the reasonable scope and duration of the examination.

## Conclusion

The Ninth Circuit held that while the border search exception permits suspicionless manual inspections of electronic devices, a full forensic examination of a computer seized at the border requires reasonable suspicion; applying that rule, it found reasonable suspicion supported the search and reversed the suppression order.


United States v. Cotterman, 709 F.3d 952 (9th Cir. 2013) (en banc)