D. Mass.: Entry into an office in Hong Kong by U.S. officials was not governed by the Fourth Amendment

Officers went into defendant’s offices in Hong Kong in an investigation of conspiracy to import illegal munitions into the U.S. The entry into the office by U.S. officials in Hong Kong was not governed by the Fourth Amendment because defendant was not a U.S. citizen, even if it was a “search” and not just a plain view. United States v. Shek, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119484 (D. Mass. November 10, 2010):

Moreover, to the extent that it could be said there was a search of Jetpower by the U.S. agents, the Fourth Amendment’s protections do not apply. Both the Supreme Court and the First Circuit have unequivocally stated that the Fourth Amendment does not apply to searches or seizures of aliens that take place on foreign territory. See United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez, 494 U.S. 259, 267, 110 S. Ct. 1056, 108 L. Ed. 2d 222 (1990) (“There is … no indication that the Fourth Amendment was understood by contemporaries of the Framers to apply to activities of the United States directed against aliens in foreign territory or in international waters.”); United States v. Vilches-Navarrete, 523 F.3d 1, 13 (1st Cir. 2008) (“As we have said before, the Fourth Amendment does not apply to activities of the United States against aliens in international waters.” (citation and internal quotation marks omitted)).

Like the defendants in Verdugo-Urquídez and Vilches-Navarrete, at the time of the 2003 visit, Chan was an alien, not residing in the United States, and the search of his office took place on foreign soil. Verdugo-Urquídez, 494 U.S. at 274; Vilches-Navarrete, 523 F.3d at 13. Consequently, with respect to any observations made by the agents while present at Jetpower’s office either on October 20 or 29, 2003, “the Fourth Amendment has no application.” Verdugo-Urquídez, 494 U.S. at 275. Accordingly, I will deny the motion to suppress any evidence arising from the purported search of Jetpower’s office.