DETENTION PRACTICES ARE UPHELD BY SUPREME COURT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01315R000400380066-8
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 8, 2004
• Sequence Number: 66
• Publication Date: May 15, 1979
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Rele a pp55/p~ 11~1 1315R6
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Article appeared 15 May 1979
on page A-6
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EXCERPT:
. BORDER SEARCHES
With Stevens and Justice Harry A.
Blackmun dissenting, the court de-
clined a plea by the Church of Scien-
tology of California to review a deci-
sion in which the 9th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals upheld a search by
Customs agents of materials shipped
by the church's affiliate in Britain.... _
Last night, a church spokesman said
that under the decision,; "anything ar-
riving in the United States by air
-freight can now- be . opened and .
;searched, and documents and papers
'read in their entirety by Customs,
`agents without a search warrant. Even
though no law is violated, Customs
:can read and detain any mail they
wish."
'
An agent made the search of the
church's materials under a law allow
ing Customs to bar importation of
matter "advocating- ' or urging
treason... ." The materials were de-
"tained for three days in July 1976 af-
ter the agent, scanning the materials,
saw words such as "CIA," "Interpol," "decoding machine" and "sabotage."
The documents then were released. .
On the day pf release, the church
filed a spit . charging that the law` is
-unconstitutional.
The 9th Circuit ruling applies only
in Arizona, ? California, Idaho, Mon-
tana;' Nevada, Oregon, Washington
state, Alaska, Hawaii and Guam.: `
The Supreme Court previously. has
upheld border searches, of ..mail... ~us-
-pected to contain narcotics.:; "
Approved For Release 2005/01/12 : CIA-RDP88-01315R000400380066-8