State v. Spencer Newell Breese, 160 Idaho 841

Breese was traveling on a common-carrier bus; a bus employee smelled marijuana emanating from a backpack in the luggage compartment, locked it, and summoned police.
The bus employee (relying on company policy that permits searches and warns passengers) removed and opened the backpack in the presence of an officer and removed three bags of suspected marijuana. The officer did not direct or physically assist the search and said he could not smell marijuana from outside the compartment.
The backpack was tagged in Breese’s name; Breese confirmed ownership and admitted the substance was marijuana. He was charged with trafficking in marijuana and moved to suppress the evidence.
At the suppression hearing the district court found the employee had an independent, legitimate company-motivated reason to search (policy enforcement, passenger safety, ticket revocation) and was not acting as a government agent; alternatively, the court found probable cause under the automobile exception.
Breese appealed, arguing the search was governmental because the employee intended to assist law enforcement and the officer acquiesced; the Court of Appeals reviewed the facts for substantial-evidence and reviewed constitutional application de novo.

Issue	Breese's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Whether the bus employee’s search was government action implicating the Fourth Amendment	Employee acted as a government agent because he requested police presence and intended to assist law enforcement in identifying a possessor of contraband	Employee acted pursuant to independent common-carrier policy and motivations (company policy, passenger safety, ticket revocation); officer did not direct or assist the search	Employee was not a government agent; search was private and Fourth Amendment suppression does not apply

United States v. Jacobsen, 466 U.S. 109 (private-search doctrine governing exclusion of evidence)
United States v. Walther, 652 F.2d 788 (9th Cir.) (private actor converts to agent when motivated to assist law enforcement)
United States v. Gomez, 614 F.2d 643 (9th Cir.) (common-carrier search for owner identification is private despite some officer involvement)
State v. Pontier, 103 Idaho 91 (discussing common-carrier inspection rights)
State v. Kopsa, 126 Idaho 512 (analyzing gray-area private vs. governmental searches)