Originally Posted by
polonius
Read it again, slowly. No conflict -- both say a warrant is needed. In any case, a manual is not a regulation.
The International mail manual is a book of rules/regs that the post office follows... Much like the domestic mail manual, it defines what can/can't be mailed and how it must be mailed. Its the regulations the post office follows.
And re-read your rule you posted..
Customs officers and employees
may open and examine sealed letter
class mail subject to Customs examination
which appears to contain matter
in addition to, or other than, correspondence,
provided they have reasonable
cause to suspect the presence
of merchandise or contraband.
if we are, indeed, still talking about laptops, then a laptop would be considered merchandise, or "other than, correspondence," in which case your rule would, more than likely, not apply.
If you're talking about a letter to a friend/business associate/grandma, then yes, the customs rules appear to be more limited on what they can do, but per postal rules, it looks like they can hand over anything to customs to inspect. Personally, this seems to present a loophole you could drive a truck through..
You: you had no right to open my international correspondence
postal employee: I was following the rules I've been told to follow. Go ahead and sue the usps and customs.