The following excerpt is from U.S. v. Robles, 5 F.3d 543 (9th Cir. 1993):
Appellant now asserts that the search was improper because it was not contemporaneous with his arrest. This question is arguably waived because it was not a matter of dispute below, although it was the basis of the district court's decision to admit the evidence. The propriety of a warrantless search is a mixed question of law and fact. The district court's findings will be upheld unless they are clearly erroneous, while the ultimate legal conclusions that probable cause existed and that an exception to the warrant requirement applied are reviewed de novo. United States v. George,
Page 543
Upon contact the driver verbally identified himself as Tirso Robles. He was then taken into custody at gunpoint.
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