CA5: Citizen of China on ship stopped on high seas by U.S. officers had no 4A rights

“Liang’s first argument, concerning the denial of a hearing on his motion to suppress evidence, is wholly frivolous. Because Liang is ‘a citizen and resident of [China] with no voluntary attachment to the United States’ and the challenged search occurred in international waters, ‘the Fourth Amendment has no application’ to this case. United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez, 494 U.S. 259, 274-75, 110 S. Ct. 1056, 108 L. Ed. 2d 222 (1990).” United States v. Wu, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 5634 (5th Cir. Feb. 24, 2020).

At a traffic safety checkpoint, officers smelled marijuana coming from defendant’s car. A search of the car produced a gun. The checkpoint complied with the Fourth Amendment. “[T]he court finds that the police checkpoint was a reasonable intrusion into the privacy interests of motorists and thus constitutional.” United States v. Fishburne, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31080 (D.S.C. Feb. 24, 2020).*