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N.D.N.Y.: Tribal officer designated for border stops needed advance approval of stop, which here was lacking

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Defendant was on an Indian reservation in Franklin County NY that was partly in New York and Quebec. He was observed crossing the border at an unmanned border crossing by a tribal officer and then promptly return. The tribal officer was designated to make border stops by CBP, but he needed advance telephone authority which he lacked here. The stop was invalid. United States v. Wilson, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 131530 (N.D. N.Y. December 8, 2010). The conclusion: Sgt. Rourke and Inv. Barnes' stop of Wilson's vehicle was outside the legal boundary of the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation and thus they lacked authority to conduct the stop as St. Regis Mohawk tribal police officers. Although Sgt. Rourke possessed delegated Title 19 authority to act as a customs officer, he failed to notify the ICE agent in charge before stopping defendant's vehicle as required by the Designation Agreement...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on December 20, 2010 (boomark / email).