In the back of the trucks were what obviously were bales of marijuana wrapped in dark green plastic bags and sealed with tape.

The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed,[1] holding that the search of the vehicles three days later was unreasonable under United States v. Ross (1982).

Turning to the central issue of the case, the Court held that the three-day delay in conducting the search was not unreasonable.

First, the Court noted that "our previous decisions indicate that the officers acted permissibly by waiting until they returned to DEA headquarters before they searched the vehicles and removed their contents... .

Once the vehicle is seized, exigent circumstances for the search are no longer required if it existed at the time of seizure.