SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals today said a search of a laptop that began at the Mexican border, continued 170 miles away and took two days was lawful under border search authority.

Calling it a case of first impression, the court in a 2-1 opinion reversed an Arizona district court, which had suppressed hundreds of images of child pornography after deeming the search an “extended” border search conducted in violation of the defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights.