United States v. LaVallee

Citation367 F.2d 351
Decision Date18 October 1966
Docket NumberNo. 51,Docket 30503.,51
PartiesUNITED STATES of America ex rel. Henry WILSON, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Hon. J. Edwin LaVALLEE (successor to Hon. Robert E. Murphy), Warden of Auburn State Prison, Auburn, New York, Respondent-Appellee.
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (2nd Circuit)

Dixon S. Welt, Albany, N. Y., for petitioner-appellant.

Barry Mahoney, Asst. Atty. Gen. of New York (Louis J. Lefkowitz, Atty. Gen., and Samuel A. Hirshowitz, First Asst. Atty. Gen., on the brief), for respondent-appellee.

Before SMITH, HAYS and FEINBERG, Circuit Judges.

J. JOSEPH SMITH, Circuit Judge:

Henry Wilson appeals from the denial of his application for a writ of habeas corpus by Chief Judge James T. Foley of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, United States ex rel. Wilson v. LaVallee, 251 F.Supp. 292 (N.D.N.Y.1966), after a hearing held pursuant to the remand order in United States ex rel. Wilson v. Murphy, 335 F.2d 550 (2d Cir.1964). Petitioner's principal point is that there was no probable cause for his arrest and that, therefore, the narcotics on which his conviction under New York Penal Law, McKinney's Consol.Laws c. 40, § 1751 was based were illegally seized.

About 10:00 p. m. on May 4, 1957 the arresting officers were driving along Seventh Avenue near 111th Street in New York City when they learned from their police radio of a holdup in the Times Square area. The call went out for a new model automobile, possibly a Chevrolet, with a red bottom and a cream top, occupied by a male Negro and traveling north on Central Park West. The detectives drove directly to 110th Street and 8th Avenue, the continuation of Central Park West. At about 10:30 p. m. they spotted and followed a 1955 Ford Thunderbird with a red bottom and a cream top, occupied by two male Negroes, traveling north on 8th Avenue. In a few blocks, the Thunderbird stopped at a traffic light and two of the officers disembarked with guns drawn and ordered the driver to pull over. Instead, he pulled around the corner and, when the detectives threatened to shoot, stopped there. Petitioner was the passenger in the car and a search revealed narcotics.

It is apparent that, despite the presence of two occupants instead of one and a Ford Thunderbird instead of a Chevrolet, the arresting officers had probable cause to believe that petitioner had committed the Times Square holdup described in the radio message....

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15 cases
  • Klingler v. United States, 19209.
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit)
    • April 3, 1969
    ...S.Ct. 260, 21 L.Ed.2d 262 (1968). See, for close examples, Bailey v. United States, 389 F.2d 305 (D.C. Cir. 1967); United States v. LaVallee, 367 F.2d 351 (2nd Cir. 1966). See also, Sewell v. United States, 406 F.2d 1289 (8th Cir., 1969) (criminals do change license Because probable cause f......
  • United States v. Jones
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 11th Circuit. United States District Court (Southern District of Georgia)
    • December 1, 1972
    ...L.Ed.2d 419, affirming United States ex rel. Chambers v. Maroney, 408 F.2d 1186 (3rd Cir.) and D.C., 281 F.Supp. 96; United States v. La Vallee, 367 F.2d 351 (2nd Cir.); United States v. Troutman, 458 F.2d 217 (10th Cir.); United States v. Skinner, 412 F.2d 98 (8th Cir.), cert. denied 396 U......
  • United States v. Lace, Crim. No. 79-44-1 to 79-44-9.
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 2nd Circuit. District of Vermont
    • October 30, 1980
    ......sufficient to warrant a prudent man in believing that the petitioner had committed or was committing an offense." Beck v. Ohio, 379 U.S. 89, 91, 85 S.Ct. 223, 225, 13 L.Ed.2d 142 (1964); United States ex rel. Wilson v. LaVallee, 367 F.2d 351, 352 (2d Cir. 1966). The requirements of probable cause are satisfied since the officer who ordered the arrest had adequate knowledge to support a finding of probable cause. United States v. Loundmannz, 472 F.2d 1370, 1379 (D.C.Cir.1972). Since the arrest of Ms. Eckman was ......
  • United States ex rel. Savino v. Flood
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 2nd Circuit. United States District Court (Eastern District of New York)
    • December 28, 1979
    ...v. Deegan, 440 F.2d 304 (2d Cir. 1971); United States ex rel. Levy v. McMann, 394 F.2d 402 (2d Cir. 1968); United States ex rel. Wilson v. LaVallee, 367 F.2d 351 (2d Cir. 1966); United States ex rel. Reid v. Dunham, 481 F.Supp. 366, 79 (E.D.N.Y. 1979) (Platt, D. J.). The reason for such a p......
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