United States v. Place
United States Supreme Court
462 U.S. 696 (1983)
Federal agents stopped Place (defendant) at LaGuardia Airport, suspected his luggage contained drugs, and seized it to have it sniffed by a drug detection dog at Kennedy Airport, a process taking about 90 minutes, during which agents never told Place how long the luggage would be held or how to get it back. The dog alerted to one bag, agents obtained a warrant, and the ensuing search found cocaine. Place argued the prolonged seizure of his luggage without probable cause violated the Fourth Amendment.
Whether, when police seize luggage from a suspect's custody on less than probable cause for investigative purposes, the permissible scope of that detention is governed by the same limits that apply to investigative detentions of the person.